Diovni Arms and Protection: Eyes in the Shadows
by Dastardus Author n' Publishing
Summary: A side-story to Senio the Guardian's "Path of a Guardian Prologue" series. Chronicles the actions of the Diovni Arms and Protection company as they monitor the new Guardian. Open for others to continue with Senio the Guardian's permission.
1. Chapter 1

Darkness swirled all around as six figures entered. Six servants kneeled in a circle, facing the center where the shadow began to congregate. Six faces raised as their names were called.

"Duke" A tall man in his mid-thirties raised his head. His short, blond hair fell just above his flourescent green eyes. His long black overcoat spread out behind him and was pinned under his gloved right hand. His left, unsleeved, arm came up and pushed the hair out of his face. A multitude of belts hung from his waste, each holding multiple pouches and deck boxes.

"Liam" Across from Duke, a young man removed the cigarette from his mouth. He dropped the butt next to the knee of his white designer suit. His long silver hair fell past his face and reflected the last light of the cherry red tip. His eyes flashed a light blue.

"Mirn" The woman next to Liam tore her gaze from his eyes and looked up at the mass of shadows, slowly tightening together. Her carrot red hair hung in a braid down the back of her lab coat. She reached up and brushed a loose strand back behind her ear, her eyes flicking around, checking to see if anyone had seen her looking at Liam. The woman across the room fluttered her eyelashes at Mirn and smiled wickedly. Mirn quickly lowered her gaze.

"Laurel" The woman, ceased from her taunting of Mirn and smiled up at the thickening shadows. Her pitch black hair fell in curls past her face and her breasts were almost falling out of the wispy dress she was wearing. Her golden eyes closed and she bowed her head again, a faint smile on her blood red lips. "Master" she murmured reverantly.

"Raize" All the raised faces lowered to escape the Master's favorite assassin's gaze. His shaved head sprouted a group of pure white bangs that barely fell to his eye's. His eye's were what they all avoided. They were milk white. No irises, no pupils. Just white. His hood lay on his back, blending with the black of his jacket. His baggy cloth pants bunched around his knees. When he spoke, it was not with his tongue, but with his mind. No one could shut it out, a thought given sound, emotionless and empty. Even the shadows of their dark master seemed to falter slightly at the percussion that seemed to permeate the air.

**_My lord._** The assassin lowered his gaze and the rest raised theirs.

"Leek" The sixth was the only one in the room that had not shuddered at Raize's thought. His black spiked hair was tinted with streaks of red. Under the dark blue scarf he wore around his shoulder's was a dull brass breastplate. His greaves and arm braces were made of the same material. A scar started from his hairline, curved down over his left eye, and down to his temple. A hook tipped buster sword lay across his back. The gem that grew from his the back of his right hand glinted red in the small amount of light that entered the dark room. He stood, followed soon by Raize, and then the others.

"My soldiers, My generals, the enforcers of My will. My friends." The shadows solidified into a man, tall and bald. His face was pale and flat, without any distinct features. The clothes of his body were just shadows, swirly around him. "I have decided that we must make our more. We have amassed power, taking over world after world through deceit and political influence, but now we must act quickly." The man, if he could be called that, gazed around into the faces of his generals. "You don't get it do you?" His laugh came out as a hiss. "A new Holder is coming." Around the circle, a mixture of expressions sprang onto faces. Liam's eyes grew wide with excitement, Laurel smiled widkedly. Mirn had a far away look, as if thinking of things to come. Duke and Leek each gave off an air of indifference. Raize just stared ahead, emotionless and cold.

"I've been expecting this." the shadow continued. "We always knew that a new Holder would appear eventually. But, now that he comes, we must move quickly." The shadow morphed to the shape of a woman. Her voice, softer, yet more menacing because of it, echoed throughout the chamber. "If we are to achieve our goal, this must be handled with care. We must prepare for him, not just react. Plan, not rush. Do you understand?" They nodded.

"So then, Liam." Liam straightened.

"Yes Master?"

The shadows swirled around him. "You are to go to Earth, dear. Prepare our way there. Gather our followers and search for what we need."

Liam bowed "As you wish." He turned on his heel and left the room, signaling to two guards on his way out.

The shadows pulled back and formed back into the woman. "Now, Duke and Laurel, I want you to travel to Gaia. You are not to interfere with any of the events there. It is a strictly reconnaissance mission. Stay there until I call for you. Can you do that for me?"

Laurel curtsied. "Of course, my liege." She shot a threatening look to Duke, who shrugged.

"No problem. No fighting got it." His heavy Australian accent seemed out of place in the dark room. They turned to leave, but Duke stopped and turned around, flipping a coin back and forth across his fingers. Mirn watched it closely. "In regards to gathering information..." Duke started.

The shadow swirled up around him and he flinched back. "All methods are authorized my dear. Just do not be discovered. Now go." Duke nodded and followed Laurel out.

The shadow gathered itself again and transformed into a tall figure, hooded and cloaked. I long white beard hung down it's front. "As for the rest of you, Leek, you are to accompany Mirn to all the known Focal Points. Then, you are both to go Purgatoria. Continue with the research there until I send for you. Be discreet, you don't want to be... observed" The shadows receded into a corner. "Raize, you are to remain here. I have a special assignment for you." Raize stood with his back to the exit. Leek glanced at him as he passed with Mirn. They would talk later.

After the door had closed, the shadows solidified into the body of a little girl. "Raize," she said tiredly. "Raize, I want you to go to the Realm of Darkness. Open the Key Holes for me again. Please?" The girls lay down on a bed, hidden in the back. "If we are to open the Void, we must sow the seeds of Chaos." She lay back and closed her eyes. "Then go back to finding the artifacts for me. I need them all, or this will not work."

Raize stepped back and bowed low. **_Of course, my Master._**

Outside the room, Leek leaned against the wall, waiting for Raize. He had waved Mirn on ahead to get her things on the ship. "So," Leek pushed himself off the wall as Raize passed. "What are you off to do?"

_**I am to open the Key Holes that the Keyblade Master closed.**_

Leek nodded. "Makes sense. Provide a distraction while we continue to gather the artifacts." They assumed a silent walk as a squad of guards passed by. "And what of the new Holder?"

_**Nothing. The Master does not appear to know much of the matter. Or, **_Raize looked over at Leek. _**I am no longer considered trustworthy enough to hear what is known.**_

Leek grunted. "Fine. Make sure you stop by and check on the others as you look for the artifacts. I want to know what they are doing. Especially Liam. He shouldn't have been sent off on his own. He's not trustworthy"

_**Like you are?**_

Leek smiled. "Touche. I suppose none of us could be considered trustworthy, could we." Leek veered off to the right as they approached the hangar. Down by one of the many ships, Mirn was directing guards as they loaded the last of her equipment into the loading bay. She looked up and spotted Leek walking down the ramp. Waving at him to hurry up, she stepped up into the bay and closed it behind her. Leek jumped up into the door to the cockpit and turned back to where Raize stood watching. He raised his hand in farewell as Raize erupted into black flame and dissapeared into the realm of darkness.

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**Author's Note:** Before you get on my back, yes, Draguss did approve of this. It is free of spoilers of the Prologue story, and will merely tell of what the Diovni company sees Sen doing. Kind of like recapping chapters, but through the eyes of a seperate, uninvolved group. Every chapter will be screened so that it doesn't reveal anything that would spoil the other fic.


	2. Witnessing Rebirth

_**Witnessing Rebirth**_

Duke winced as the boy landed on his head. Hard. He'd fallen a good forty feet. Not a fun landing even on your feet. Shaking his head, Duke put the binoculars back up to his eyes. Behind him, Laurel drummed her fingers on the bike.

"Come ON Duke. We found him, let's get going. If we stay here much longer we're going to be discovered. This isn't exactly the most inconspicuous place to have a stakeout." She looked around. They were on top of a high cliff near the city. The obvious spot to place snipers, and the first place any soldier with experience would check.

"Big deal." Duke called back. He smirked as Valentine saved the punks ass. "Valentine's what we're really here for. So we stay where we can see him."

Laurel threw her head back and groaned. "But couldn't we keep an eye on him where we, well, where we won't be shot." Duke ignored her and continued to watch the kid. Laurel slipped up behind him and put her arms around his waist. She raised her lips and whispered into Duke's ear. "Somewhere a little more... private?"

But Duke just chuckled. "Check out the kid, he's doing pretty good against those Deep Ground units." He handed the binoculars to Laurel and she looked through them just in time to see the dog charging the kid from behind get gunned down by Valentine.

"I'm not sure about the newbie, but that Vincent is sure pulling his weight." She licked her lips. "I wouldn't mind having him as a stakeout partner. He'd probably love to have some fun." Duke rolled his eyes. "Come on." She spun him around. "How can you keep your hands off this?" She was in laced leather pants, stretching clear up to her thighs. under the small open jacket was just a red tube top.

Duke just raised an eyebrow. "Maybe later." He turned back and looked through the scope. The kid was still cutting down Deep Ground soldiers, but Valentine had disappeared. "Shit..." Duke turned and ran to the bike, swinging a leg over and gunning the throttle. Laurel jumped on to the back and kissed his ear. Duke grunted and pulled on his helmet, strapping it under his chin. "Hold on tight." He yelled over the roar of the engine.

Laurel laughed. "I always do." She grasped him tightly around the waste and laughed as they took off down the almost sheer drop slope. Her dark hair flew out behind them as they roared down.

A little ways into the city, they soon came across a group of Deepground fighters facing off against a platoon of WRO recruits. Deepground had circled around and come across a group of wounded soldiers. And decided to finish the job. Duke pulled a hand of cards from one of the many deck boxes. "Get ready to catch." He called to his partner. She nodded. As they came up behind the Deepground troops, he threw the cards like shruiken. They whistled as they flew through the air, and struck the soldiers' hands. Yelling, they dropped their guns. Laurel laughed as she slowed down time and leaned to the side, scooping them out of the air as they passed. Then, she stood, turned around, and backflipped, firing down into the almost motionless bodies. Blood spurted into the air and froze there, waiting for the spell to be broken. Landing, she tossed the empty guns to the ground. A sudden chorus of screams broke out as the spell ended and the soldiers died.

Duke skidded to a stop in front of the frightened WRO troops. Their captain stood and walked towards the bike. "Thank you for saving my men. I thought we were don-" He halted as Duke thrust out his hand.

Duke spun his hand, and was suddenly holding a coin. "Heads, you live. Tails... well, you know." And tossed it up into the air. It flew up a good twenty feet, then fell back down into his outstretched palm. Heads up. The captain breathed a sigh of relief. He had no doubt these two could make the threat come true. Then, Duke stuck out his left hand and smacked the coin onto the back of it. Tails up.

"Tsk tsk, ooh, bad luck." Duke threw the coin at the astonished captain and gunned his motor. Laurel laughed as they flew away, the sudden and enormous explosion barely missing them.

"Oh, I love it when you're sadistic. It's so naughty." Duke smirked. Laurel's laughter continued as they drove deeper into the heart of the city, dodging gunfire and debris. As they drew closer to the thick of the fight, Laurel began using time manipulation to hide them from the soldiers on both sides. No sense in getting into a fight, especially on a reconnaisance mission.

Duke cut the power on the engine, and they glided the last few blocks to the building that the heaviest fighting was around. Or, at least, had been around. "Hm, looks like out little friend has been here to." whisper Duke as he removed his helmet. He took a minute to straighten his hair out, then propped the bike up against the wall.

"I'll say." Laurel looked around at the carnage and let out a low whistle. "If he wasn't so young, I wouldn't mind showing him a thing or two." Duke rolled his eyes in disgust and Laurel smiled. "Hey baby, a woman has needs. And you certainly aren't as eager to fulfill them as you used to be." She turned suddenly and pushed him up against the wall. "What ever happened to us, huh babydoll?" She brushed her lips against his.

"You tried to kill me."

Laurel pulled away and shrugged. "Well, you do what you have to. No hard feelings, right?"

"Clearly."

Laurel smiled mischeviously. "Ooh, dirty. I like it." She trailed her fingers against his chest as she walked away. "Careful tiger, you're turning me on." Duke followed her into the building, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. They stopped right before the room where the kid and Azul were fighting. Azul's fists were flying, but the boy always seemed to dogde by an inch. The kid formed to obs of silver energy around his hands. "You ain't beating me like this!" he cried, and sent the energy at Azul and the other Tsviet, Shelke. It enveloped them in a bright light. Duke and Laurel had to shade their eyes. When the glow faded, the two Tsviets collapsed.

"Not bad, kid, but it seems our time is up." Azul hauled himself to his feet, lifted the smaller Shelke into his arms, and began to loap away.

The kid took a step and muttered, "Damn bastard." before falling to the ground. Duke grabbed Laurel and they bolted from the building. Outside, Laurel quickly disarmed and killed two WRO soldiers, and headed for the motorcycle. But Duke pulled out a cell phone, especially made for the kind of call he was about to make.

"What are you doing?" Laurel yelled back, starting to rev the bike's engine. "Any second now reinforcements are going to arrive, and if we aren't gone by then we're going to have a fight on our hands we can't win!" But Duke just shook his head and laughed. "What's so hilarious? We have to go now!" Laurel glanced around into the alleys, looking for approaching troops.

But Duke just shook his head. "I'm calling the Master."

Laurel's eyes grew wide. "Why?" she asked, exasperrated. "Can't you call when we are somewhere else?"

Duke's grin widened. "No, the Master will want to hear about this as soon as possible."

"Want to hear what?" Laurel's voice was barely under control.

"We found the Holder."

Laurel stared at him incredulously. "What are you talking about?" Duke motioned back at the building they had come from. Laurel looked back, then at him, then back at the building. "The kid?" Duke nodded. "No way, the Master would have told us if the Holder was here."

Duke shrugged. "Unless Master doesn't know."

"That's ridiculous, the Master knows everything."

Duke rolled his eyes again. "How else do you explain the Chaos energy?"

Laurel stuttered. "Well, I don't know. But the Master would've known." Duke held up his hand, stopping whatever thought she had been about to voice. The phone had been answered. A silky voice, deep and powerful rang through the earpiece.

"Yes Duke? What do you have to say that is so urgent that it couldn't wait for your debriefing?"

Duke swallowed, then summoned up his courage and said, "We have found him Master. We have found the Holder."

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**Author's Note:** This chapter is the companion to "New Life". Mainly for fleshing out Duke and Laurel's characters a bit. It didn't take to long, so Chapter 3 is actually already finished and awaiting approval.


	3. Exerting Dominance

**Exerting Dominance**

Mirn was hunched over her laptop. All around her and her escort swirled spectral images swirled about. She glanced over her shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut at the sight. Dozens of Guados lay slain after Leek and his men had stormed the Farplane. Leek himself stood a little ways off, staring at the ghostly apparitions, a small smile on his face.

All around, Diovni mercenaries stood. Some holding gunblades, others advanced assault rifles. Non of them looked like something from Spira. Today, Leek had felt like killing. So kill he did. Every last Guado paying homage to the departed, every single warrior that tried to drive them out. All cut down. "No witnesses." He had said. "If they link this to Diovni, then this entire world will be lost. And millions more will die."

The laptop let out a small beep, and Mirn closed it. She walked over to Leek, her head hung, avoiding looking at the carnage around her. "I'm done." She whispered quietly. Leek nodded and motioned to the other soldiers idling about. They quickly sprang into formation and escorted her onto the ship waiting right beside the bright light she had been sitting next to. The focal point. The only method of travel through the worlds. Leek brought up the rear of the group, his Buster Blade still slick with blood.

He grabbed a Sergeant as he was about to board the plane. "Set up a surveillance grid." Leek whispered in the soldiers ear. "Rig it up with explosives, then set someone on constant watch. If they find anything here that could link this to us, have the place incinerated. No survivors, understand?"

The officer held his arm out horizontal to his chest in a salute. "Yes sir." Then he turned to two other soldiers standing just inside the ship. "You two, grab the clean up gear and get this place rigged." The two saluted, then grabbed a large case and lugged it out into the Farplane. Leek nodded and walked into the ship.

The grid set, Leek slipped into the pilot's seat and engaged the controls. "All systems are ready, sir." The co-pilot called over to him. "Ready to depart on your mark."

"Good." Leek nodded. Calling back to the soldiers busy stowing their weapons, "Is everything secured?"

"Yes sir." Came the reply. Leek cracked his knuckles and grasped the controls. "Alright boys, hold onto your lunch." He yelled. The craft lifted its dull green bulk into the air, and then went screaming into the focal point. Mirn stumbled at the sudden jump, and fell into her seat.

When they arrived at their destination, Leek smacked the clip on his shest, releasing the belts that held him in place. Standing up and walking around the seat he called out, "Alright, now listen up. No one is to leave the ship. This is a Priority One destination, need to know only. I can't have a group of heavily armed soldiers walking around. I will personnally execute anyone who puts so much as a toe out of the ship. Do you get me?" There was a chorus of "Yes sir!" Leek nodded. "Good." Mirn got up behind him and followed him out into the world.

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"Come in." A deep voice echoed through the hall outside of the office. Liam entered through the giant oak double doors, followed by his two bodyguards. In front of him, a large group of men stood behind the desk. Seated at it's chair was the crime boss, Leonardo Mareli.

Liam smiled warmly, but the smile didn't reach to his eyes. "Signor Mareli, it's been to long." Mareli did not return the smile.

"Liam," he said slowly. "We have a problem."

Liam's eyes shot up in mock surprise. "Oh do we? And what is this problem?"

"Don't fuck with me." Mareli growled. "For weeks now, someone has been hitting our shipments. Hitting them hard." He paused and pulled out a handgun bearing the Diovni crest. A gun and a sword crossed in front of a shield. "Hitting us with your merchandise." He pulled the magazine out and discharged the remaining shell into the wall just by Liam's head. Both his guards flinched back, reaching for their guns. There was a sudden rush of clothing, and Liam found himself staring down the barrels of over twenty guns. He just smiled.

"Now, Signor Mareli, I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding. We would never intentionally damage any of our customers." Liam reached into his pocket and pulled out a large stack of bills. "Surely this can be resolved without conflict."

But Mareli just shook his head and smiled, drawing his own Magnum as he stood. "Your smooth talking bullshit ain't gonna get you out of this one Liam. This is why you never let a kid do a mans job. See my boys?" He motioned behind him. "Everyone of 'em, a trained killer. I've paid more than their weight in gold to get 'em working here. Each of 'em is willing to lay his life down, cause he knows that he's getting well paid. If he lives, he can quit and live out his life in comfort. But he don't. Why? 'Cause he's loyal." Mareli turned and spread his arms out before the gang. "These men are my family, and I'm their's."

Liam just smirked. "But even a man's closest family can be bought out Signor Mareli. For the right price."

Mareli through his head back and laughed. "You're a funny son of a bitch, I'll give you that. Weren't you listening to a word I just said. It would take more fuckin money than is on the face of this earth to buy out my boys. Even if they weren't working for me, I couldn't afford to hire half of 'em if it weren't for my connections."

Lifting a hand, as if to check his fingernails, Liam shrugged. "That may be, Signor Mareli. But, as I'm sure you know, it's not just how many you can afford, or how good they are." He lowered his hand and slipped one of his cigarettes into his mouth. "It's where they are." Liam produced a lighter with a flourish and lit the cigarette. Mareli heard a click as the cool barrel of a gun was pressed against the back of his head. "Isn't that right Luis?"

The man holding the gun to Mareli's head grunted. "I reckon so Mister Liam." All the other guards quickly pointed their guns at the traitor, and Liam's two bodyguards quickly pulled out a pair of sub-machine guns. Mareli looked Liam in the eye with a look of pure hatred.

Tossing the money onto the crime bosses desk, Liam chuckled. "Now then, Leo, I can call you Leo right?" Liam glanced up at Luis and Mareli nodded. "Okay, Leo, I'm going to go ahead and give you the money, and you're going to tell your boys to put their guns away." Mareli glanced around and Liam's eyes hardened. "Unless you think they can gun us all done before one of us pulls a trigger?" Mareli stared at Liam a moment longer, then motioned for his men to lower their guns. They did so reluctantly. "Good. Now, here's the way it is. We are hitting you. I admit it. I'm a reasonable man though, so, here's what I want you to do. I want you to raise prices. On everything."

Mareli's eyes went wide. "Everything?" he asked hoarsly. "I can't do that. It will ruin me."

"Not as much as a bullet to the brain will I'm thinking."

The crime lord looked around his office searching for some way out of this mess. There wasn't one. He sighed, and resigned himself to it. "Why?"

Liam walked over and stared out a window. "Well now, that's really none of your concern. But, since you asked nicely, I'll tell you. Our associates, the ones who have been hitting your shipments, are willing to go under you. Since they don't have to put any money into the product, they can afford to sell it lower than you could ever hope to go. But, if you are willing to raise your prices and keep them high, they will not try to undercut you."

Mareli nodded. "But, I don't get it." he shook his head. "Why not just have us raise the prices. Why hurt us in the process?"

Turning back from the window, Liam looked at him. Picking up the money, he waved it in Mareli's face. "First off, money. We can't garuntee we won't be undercut unless we control the source of all the drugs, illegal hirings, and blackmarket sales. And second." Liam slammed the money down onto the desk and got right up in Mareli's face. "You've gotten to liberal with your freedom Leo. Someone has to remind you that you aren't in charge here. We are." Standing up, Liam motioned for his men to follow him towards the door. The second Luis's gun left the back of Mareli's head, all the other goons lifted their guns again. Liam sighed. "Put them down boys." They sniggered. Liam rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers. The double doors burst open, and in came a squad of Diovni troops, armed to the teeth. In the very front, they held a young woman, her wrists in shackles, and a rag stuffed in her mouth.

Mareli jumped up. "Maria!"

Liam just laughed and pulled a knife from his white sleeve. "Ah, I thought this might interest you." He dragged the tip of the blade lightly across the girls neck, drawing a thin line of blood. "This is how it will work Leo. If you don't comply with our wishes, your daughter will pay the price. I think that's only fair, don't you?"

Distraught, Mareli closed his hand in fists. "Why you miserable little mother fu-" He was cut off as Maria screamed through her gag. Liam had driven the knife into her back.

"Now now Leo, insulting the man holding your daughter hostage isn't very appropriate. I would appreciate if you didn't do it in the future." He pulled the knife out of her back and let her slump into the arms of his men. Cleaning the blade on a handkerchief, he said "Come here Leo. This may be the last time you see your little girl for a long, long time." Mareli ran across the room, followed by Luis, and grabbed the sobbing Maria in his arms.

"Sh, sh, it's going to be okay." Her father whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair. Looking over at his troops, Liam nodded. They unleashed a hail of gunfire into the gangsters in the back of the desk. They never stood a chance. The room was painted red as bodies fell under the withering storm of bullets. Mareli covered his daughter's ears against the screams as she began crying louder than ever. Liam kicked him in the face and he fell back. In an instant, the Diovni soldiers were on him, handcuffing and binding his legs.

Liam took a knee beside the bound man. "Listen closely. Luis is not to be harmed for this. He is to be your personal bodyguard. Everywhere you go, he goes. Everything you hear, he hears." Standing and turning to Luis he said, "Don't let him out of your sight." Luis nodded.

Dragging Maria roughly to her feet, the group proceeded down the hall. Outside, a black armored van was waiting. It was surrounded by more Diovni troops and one man carrying a .50 caliber sniper rifle instead of the standard issue assault rifle. He crossed his arm horizontal to his chest as Liam and his men approached with there captive. "Sir Liam." He murmured, bowing his head.

"Ark." Liam nodded to the man. "I want you to take the girl to the closest safe house. Call for evac in the morning and get her back to Headquarters. She is to be kept under close watch." Ark nodded as he turned, but Liam grabbed him. "She is not to be harrassed in any way, do you understand me? Keep your men under control this time. She is only to be released to Caztel. No one else."

A muscle twitched under Ark's eye, but he kept it under control. "Yes sir. Only to Caztel."

Liam crossed over to a long black limousine and got in. Rolling down the window he called, "And keep a constant watch on this place. I want to know everything that Leonardo Mareli does. He may be hurt, but he's not out yet." Liam began to roll up the window, but stopped, and rolled it back down again. "If he tries anything, break him."

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As the limousine pulled out of the estate, a dark shadow watched from the clock tower. Raize's hooded face was emotionless as he gazed down at the van. Behind him stood two young boys, neither out of their teens, awaited his command. They were armed to the teeth with several handguns, battle rifles in hand, and shotguns slung across their backs. Grenades hung from every possible spot. Though they were young, there faces were all ready battle worn. Both were capable of handling a small group of heavily armed Special Ops soldiers, whether in a fire fight or in hand to hand combat, without breaking a sweat. They stood straight behind their master, faces stoic.

Raize motioned them forward. _**Carlos, Nathan. **_The two bowed low.

"Yes, lord Raize?" murmured Nathan, the older of the two. Their lord pointed to the van that was about to leave. _**Follow them back to the safe house. Make sure that they give it to the group Lord Leek sends. If Caztel comes, stall him until the Svaminii arrive.**_

The two boys bowed again and attached piton lines to the roof of the tower. Raize stood as they dropped towards the ground. Turning, he pulled out a small transponder and activated it. After a few seconds, Leek's voice came from the earpiece. "Yes Raize, what is it?"

_**Liam has Don Mareli at his mercy. They are transporting his daughter to the safe house now. I have instructed my men to follow them and provide a distraction once Caztel arrives so that the Svaminii can evacuate her.**_

"Good, good." Leek breathed. "I'll contact Jillian and have her prep a team now. They should be there in under two hours."

_**I'll contact Carlos and Nathan and let them know how long it will take.**_

Leek grunted. "Hm. And what of the rest of your... men. Are they ready to move?"

_**At a moments notice. The Shadow's Claw is nothing if not prepared.**_

A world away, Leek smiled. "Excellent. Remember, I want nothing getting through to Diovni that I don't know about first. We almost slipped up with Duke's call back." He paused for a moment to think, then continued. "I have a feeling that Duke and Laurel will find themselves with their hands full. They will be needing back up eventually. If you can spare a few of your boys, then I'll try and have them sent. I don't want to risk those two falling under our radar."

_**How are things with Mirn in Purgatoria?**_

The sigh came through as a rush of static. "The same as always. She is constantly being distracted by that picture of Liam she carries with her everywhere. I think I might need to arrange something to ensure that she works. She is irreplacable, but there are times I wish she wasn't."

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**Author's Note:** Well, I don't have much to say (do I ever?). These first couple of chapters have just whizzed by. I'll probably slow down after this one, but they will also be encompassing more events. As for this one, just deepening Liam, Leek and Raize's characters and introducing the Svaminii and the Claw. I'll tell more about those two particular divisions of the Diovni military machine in the next couple of chapters. But, as a teaser, I will let you know that Svaminii means "Mistress".


	4. Crimson Flames

**Crimson Flames**

The Shadow's Claw. Raize's little group of under-aged super soldiers. Even Laurel was subdued in their presence. When Duke had called in for reinforcements after losing track of Valentine during the trek to Edge, he hadn't been expecting this. But here they were, four young boys with enough training and firepower to take down almost any Deepground threat. And young they were. The oldest was seventeen, the youngest, only twelve. And they had heartlessly murdered every person that laid eyes on them, whether it was Deepground, WRO, or even civilians. Not that many saw them. Just like the one they served, the Shadow's Claw could appear to slip in and out of existance. They were the ultimate assassin corps.

Currently, the leader of this squad, a young man named Bailey, was bending over a WRO body. He had been cut, almost in two. All around, bodies with the same horizontal laceration littered the ground. Laurel stepped up behind Bailey and bent down to examine the bodies. "Who did this?" She asked. "It doesn't look like that kid's style. And it certainly wasn't Valentine."

Bailey stood and kicked over a face down body. The soldiers face was covered in blood and frozen in a scream. The Claw looked into the mans eyes for a second, then turned and started making his way up the street, followed by his squad. "Rosso the Crimson." He muttered as he passed Duke, who's eyes remained impassive as he surveyed the scene. Laurel stood and picked up a discarded gunblade as she followed. They kept to the shadows as they moved, staying out of sight. The boys were very adept at this, sometimes seeming to dissapear entirely before popping into view a few feet ahead of where they'd been. Progress grew faster as they went further without seeing anything. Then, gunshots rang out ahead.

The Claws each took a knee as they pulled out shotguns, pistols, and blades. Laurel slowly revolved her gunblade into a backhanded grip and planted her feet, generating a haste spell. Duke just stood and watched as several Deepground dog soldiers ran into the street. Laurel sprang forward, but even aided by her Haste magic she didn't get there first. Bailey jumped out into the street as they came, tearing out one's throat with his small axe. Another jumped at him, but he thrust up his shotgun and caught it in the belly before blowing it in two. As the one's he missed passed, the other three member's of his squad caught them in a crossfire of pistols and assault rifles. Laurel, not to be left out, sprang forward, over Bailey's head, and cleaved an oncoming dog from head to foot. She spun and kicked another into the wall, then backflipped and fired on two more as they passed. Once they were all dead, she bent over one's body and removed it's wristblades, strapping them onto her own arms.

Up ahead, a roar shook the ground. "DUALHORN!!" a young man cried. He came into view, cutting down whatever obstacle stood in his path. Behind him, the beast charged, crushing the rubble that was strewn all over the street. Just as Laurel was about to pursue, Duke grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"We go up." and ran towards the nearby building. As he approached the wall, he jumped at it. Pressing his feet against it, he backflipped to the building opposite, and then launched himself forward, back onto the building he had run at. Laurel copied his manuver as the Shadow's Claw squad shot piton cords up and used their hydrolic winches to scale the wall almost as quickly as their superiors. At the top, they all took off running, following the sound of the Dualhorn's rampage.

As they gained, they could hear the sound of gun shots and swords hitting rock. Laurel grinned. "Sounds like our little friend is fighting back. He's got guts." They approached the sight of the duel and slid to a stop. Looking down, Duke smiled. The kid was pushed up against the wall, pinned by his own sword after trying to stab the Dualhorn in the head.

It didn't look good for the kid. And he looked like he knew it. "Man this things strong." He gasped out, to no one in particular. Just when it looked like he was dead meat, the sword he had pinned into the Dualhorn's head dissipated in a flash of silver light. He absorbed the light into his arms and dropped. As the monster rushed forward, the kid grabbed it by the horns and lifted it clear into the air and slammed it against the back wall. It bounced back, and he uppercut it into the air again. It rose level with where the group was standing. Duke glanced back down at the kid.

"Ah, shit." He cursed to himself and barreled into Laurel and two of the Claws who were staring at the rising animal. Just as they hit the deck, three balls of Chaos energy burst through the Dualhorn. One ball continued and caught a Claw in the chest. He died before he hit the ground. Bailey wasn't any luckier. The Chaos grazed him and removed his left arm from the elbow down. He fell twenty feet to the ground below and landed hard, not moving. Duke looked up just in time to see the kid slam the Dualhorn back down into the ground, and continue down the way he had been going.

Under Duke, Laurel raised her head. "Holy shit, Duke. What the hell just happened?"

He just shrugged as he regained his footing. "You want to learn about Chaos energy, go ask Mirn for a lecture."

Laurel laughed. "Oh no, she's not nearly as much fun as you." Laurel stood up, brushed the dust off of her front and then grabbed Duke by the collar, spun him around and kissed him on the lips. Hard. She opened her eyes and stared over her shoulder at the two remaining Claws who were watching with their mouths open. She winked and pulled away from Duke. "Now look what you've down." she giggled. "I've gone and done it in front of the impressionable kids." She turned walked to the edge of the roof, well aware that both boys were following her every move.

Duke knelt by the body of the Claw who had been hit with the Chaos energy, but stood almost immediatly, shaking his head. "Never had a chance."

"What about Captain Bailey?" The younger of the two left, the twelve year old, looked over at where Bailey had fallen.

Duke just shook his head though. "Even if he did survive the fall, he's lost to much blood. He would just slow us down." Turning in the direction that the boy had gone, Duke flexed his fingers and took a running leap, followed by Laurel and then the two remaining Claws. They ran along the rooftops, until, after a particularily large jump, Duke raised his hand, signaling them all to stop.

A shot rang out, and the kids voice rang out, "Snipers, huh. No point in hiding, I know you're there." The older Claw rolled his eyes. The snipers' response was to load their guns. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you!" Again, the older claw rolled his eyes, this time responding by pulling out his assault rifle. He had a scope attached to it. Obviously, he planned on teaching this punk what a sniper could do, but Duke waved him down.

Below, the kid had pointed his fingers to create a gun shape. He pointed it at the snipers and called out "RAYGUN!". A silver beam erupted from his finger tip and illuminated a sniper's head just before the beam blew it off. The snipers quickly began to return fire, but the kid just dodged their shots, still yealling "Raygun!" and firing off beam after beam, killing sniper after sniper.

They followed as the mysterious boy fought his way through the Deepground troops. Eventually, he made his way to a warehouse and ran inside. The group of four followed him up to the door and peired in as the boy and Rosso exchanged words. Suddenly, the fight began. Rosso disappeared and then materialized behind the boy as he combined his gunblades, her blade drawn. He ducked under her slash, spun, and slashed, but Rosso dodged and counter-attacked. Their fight raged on.

Duke turned to the two Claws. "Slip inside and cover the fight. I don't want the winner getting away." They nodded, drew their guns and slipped inside, fading into the shadows almost instantly.

Rosso and the boy locked, then sprang apart. "Not bad." The Russian sounding Tsviet panted "But you're still to lousy a fighter to defeat-" She suddenly lifted her blade to deflect an oncoming bullet. Duke cursed and was looking for the Claw that had loosed the shot when he noticed a thin outline. It looked more like heat vapor, really. But it was firing off shots at Rosso with extreme speed and accuracy, even as it moved. Rosso was hard pressed, deflecting all the shots. Laurel pulled out a communicator and was about to tell the Claw to put down the interferer, but Duke suddenly sprang up.

Across the room, he could see the older Claw, the one with the sniper/assault rifle, was screwing a suppressor onto his barrel. He leveled it and started following the kids movements, preparing to take a lethal headshot. He must have thought that, with all the confusion, he could avenge his comrades deaths. Duke growled and pulled a card out of a box. "Not on my watch, punk." Summoning the wind behind him, Duke leased the card so fast that it couldn't even be seen. Faster than a bullet it whizzed through the warehouse and caught the rebelious Claw in the throat. He dropped his rifle and fell back, dead.

A tugging at his coat reminded Duke of the danger. He pulled back from the opening and peeked in at the strange assailant. Laurel peered over his shoulder and frowned. "Doesn't he look kinda familiar to you?" she asked.

The stranger stood tall, just under six feet. His dull green trenchcoat hung behind him. He held a long Magnum revolver in his gloved right hand. His shirt was pale blue and torn, his pants black and threadbare. On his left shoulder was a pitted dull shoulder guard. His hair fell to his shoulders and was matted and curly. His eyes were grey and looked to old for his face, as if he had seen to much in his time.

"And who might you be, interupting my fight like that?" Rosso demanded, but the newcomers answer was to disappear again and resume his attack. The boy saw his chance, and lept at the Crimson as well. She spun away, dodging sword slashes and blocking bullets. "Hm, seems this would not be the most prudent time to fight you both." She spun and ran out a side door. The shooter materialized in the middle of the room and sprang after her.

"Hey wait for me!" Cried the boy, and tore out into the night after them. Duke and Laurel waited a minute before entering to examine the scene.

Laurel bent down and picked up the shell from one of the stranger's shots. "Where have I seen him before?" she wondered out loud.

"Ex-boyfriend?" Duke guessed

She shook her head. "But he does seem my type. Double teaming a woman like that." Duke shook his head and turned. A shot rang out and he spun, drawing a card and two coins from his pouches. Behind him stood the youngest Claw, his rifle raised and pointed at Duke, looking for all the world like he was going to kill his commanding officer. Except for the bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. The two stared at it for a moment and then turned around.

Bailey stood in the doorway, his pistol raised. The left lide of his face was badly burned, and he held his left arm close to his chest. They stared at him. "How in the world..." Laurel's thought trailed off as Bailey dropped his left arm. Wires stuck out from where his elbow should have been. Sparks fell to the ground.

"A cyborg." Duke muttered. "I thought that they were deemed to expensive. I knew that we were moving on to create androids, but I thought that the cyborg project was dropped."

Bailey shook his head. "Merely downsized." he explained. "It was picked up again to create assassins. It's still too expensive to implement on the entire Shadow's Claw, but every mission we go on has one cyborg." He holstered his gun and pulled out a knife. Raising it to his face, he proceeded to cut off the burned tissue, until the metallic part of his skull was revealed. His left eye glowed red. "I need to go back for repairs." He stated. "Can you two carry on without me?"

They nodded. "Of course. Hurry back and get that handsome face fixed." Laurel smiled. "Then hurry back, mkay hon?" Bailey saluted them with his right arm horizontal to his chest, then turned and ran into the night.

Turning back, Laurel stared at Duke. "Why didn't the Master tell us about this? Why would he hide this from us?"

Duke lifted his hand and stared at the light glinting off of the coins. "The Master has many secrets, Laurel. And most of them you don't even know exist. Accept it"

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Liam was awoken from his slumber at about 4 o'clock in the morning. Groaning, he picked up his phone. "What is it Ark?". Immediatly, he knew something was wrong. In the back ground, gunfire and explosions echoed. "Ark, what's going on?" he shouted into the phone.

The commander's voice was hoarse and strained. "I'm not sure sir. Caztel had just arrived and we were about to hand the girl over to him when we were attacked out of nowhere." Another explosion, this time closer. Ark coughed as he choked on dust. "I'm not sure how many there are. At least twenty, judging by the fire their laying down on us. I've lost over fifteen men already. We need assisstance."

Liam cursed. "I'm coming down. Hold out till I get there." He slammed the phone down on the hook and got out of bed.

Back in the safehouse, Ark hung up the phone and hoisted his sniper rifle. "You and you." He pointed to two other soldiers. "Grab some heavy artillery and get up to the roof. I want you to turn up the entire countryside. They snapped a quick salute and, grabbing one of the mortars, headed up the stairs.

Ark hurried outside where the rest of his men were firing into an empty night. Every minute, it seemed he lost more men. Quickly crouching down behind their fortifications, he switched on his infrared and stared into the night, looking for a heat signature. But all the heat he saw came from fires. Cursing, he turned to the Leiutenent beside him, just as the man's head exploded, showering Ark with blood. "Fuck!" He yelled and grabbed up the man's light-machine gun. "Give those mother fuckers hell boys!" He screamed as he opened fire into the darkness.

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Out across the road, hiding in a ditch, Carlos and Nathan were laying down heavy fire. Both had set up custom, high caliber LMGs with bipods, precision scopes, and underbarrel 40mm grenade launchers. They were in total control. Behind them, a stealth chopper was landing in the fields, unloading a group of fully clad figures. They were all women, wearing skin tight suits and gas masks. In all, twelve dropped from the chopper, all carrying P90 sub-machine guns with silencers.

One of the women walked towards the two boys. Stopping behind them, she saluted, then dropped to a knee. Carlos turned his head and nodded. "Agent Jillian."

She nodded back. "Carlos." Pulling off the full head gas mask, she let her long golden tresses fall down over her back. She unclipped a scope from her suit and looked through it at the defensive line. "Where's the target?"

"West side of the house, back room. There's a trap door that leads down to the basement." Nathan spoke up. "That's where she was taken when they got here."

Jillian nodded. "Hows the defense?" A mortar explosion on the road right in fron of them answered her question for them. Jillian called back to her troops, "Delilah, get on the chopper's turret. We have a mortar position on the roof." The Svaminii she was talking to nodded and jumped back into the chopper. A second later, high caliber shells ripped into the men manning the mortar. Their screams pierced the night.

The Svaminii agent lowered her scope lens and attached it to her P90 and waved her girls forward. She placed a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Keep the fire concentrated on the door there. Once we are inside, I'll radio you to stop. You can get back to the chopper and wait to exfil with us." Nathan nodded and adjusted his grip, tightening his spread, as the Svaminii corps. advanced.

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Agent Jillian of the first Svaminii task force waved her girls low as they approached the house. The two boys had stopped firing and were presumably heading for the heli now. But they were from the Shadow's Claw corps. No one ever knew what they would do. And if you did, you wouldn't live long.

Motioning for them to stack up, Jillian pulled a concussion grenade off of her suit. Holstering her P90, she put a hand on the door, and cracked it open. Inside, she could see Ark with his cowboy hat and aviator glasses. Standing by him, shouting out orders was Caztel, his shaven, ebony head reflecting light. She had worked with both of these men before. She knew she could handle them.

Turning back to her soldiers, she opened a channel. "Remember, no deaths if we can help it." She whispered. "We get in, blind them, grab the girl and get out." She slipped her hand into the crack of the door. "If anyone is conscious after the grenades are out." she breathed, "take 'em out." So saying, she pushed in the depressor on the grenade and hurled it into the room, slamming the door behind it. There was a bang, a flash of light and then the entered.

Everyone was on the ground. Ark's hat had fallen off and lay near his motionless body. "All hostiles down ma'am." came the call from a nearby Svaminii. "Same here." another echoed, peaking outside.

Agent Jillian looked around. "Good. The target is in the back west room, down a trap door. Remember, see anyone with their eyes uncrossed, take 'em." They all nodded. They knew the drill.

They worked their way to the back, stepping carefully over bodies. Opening the trap door, Jillian lowered herself down into the dark. She switched on night vision and looked around. In the back corner, tied to a chair was the girl. Her hair was in knots, and her face streaked with dirt, but at least she was alive. Jillian lifted her head and opened her eyes to shine a flashlight in them. Well, she was unconcious, probably drug induced. Untying her, Jillian lifted her up and passed her up the ladder. Climbing up herself, she turned to her second in command, Amanda. "Amanda, tell the pilot to prep for dust off. We're outta here."

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Laurel was already in the base. Duke couldn't believe their luck. Following that van with the kid and his invisible friend had paid off. Inside, Laurel was having similar thoughts as the wrapped the wire around a camera cable. Duke came on over the headset. "Okay Laurel, we got a feed. I'm going to infiltrate from the opposite side. Remember, avoid combat if possible."

Laurel rolled her eyes. "Don't be getting high and mighty Dukey, I'll do what I want, thank you." His sigh came in as a rush of static.

Laurel set off towards the control room as Duke checked the screens on his computer. Everything looked clear for both of them. Laurel would be there in an instant with her time magic, so he had to get moving. He took off down the halls, ducking out of sight whenever a skirmish neared him. He hated hiding from the fights as much as she did, but they had strict orders not to be discovered. Even stricted after he brought up the possibility that the Holder might be here. The Master didn't want the Holder scared away, not yet.

Laurel, on the otherhand, had no qualms about being discovered. She killed everything in her path, be it Deepground, or WRO. She'd had enough of hiding. She opened her wristblades and set to work, speeding herself up, slowing down the bullets that were fired at her, freezing time as she turned her enemies to swish cheese.

Eventually, they both arrived at the central area. Inside, Valentine and those two strangers were tearing through Deepground forces. The one that had pulled the dissapearing act jumped up to a bridge and started cutting into Deepground soldiers on both sides. The young boy yelled, "Vadha! Jump!" As he hurled blades of Chaos energy at the bridge. Laurel turned and mouthed "Vadha?" to Duke, but his expression remained the same. As the Deepground soldiers fell from the bridge, Valentine sniped them one by one.

Hearing a noise behind him, Duke spun to the side as a hailstorm of bullets were fired where he'd been standing a second before. Pulling a few coins from his pocket, he hurled them back into the hallway. Deepground soldiers screamed as the coins exploded. Then, Duke pulled out a hand full of cards and twirled into the mouth of the hallway. He threw the cards as the soldiers fired their guns. The bullets were deflected by the cards and the soldiers fell as the cards that made it to them burst into flame, incinerating the men immediately.

Laurel was about to come to his aid when she saw Valentine take his companions into a back room. They were followed almost immediately by that Tsviet, Shelke. Seeing that Duke had the situation under control, Laurel slipped after Shelke, ducking into shadows just as the boy pointed behind him at the invisible Tsviet. She wondered, how had he known that she would be there. Sure, the scientist had pointed a gun, but how would the boy know to respond like that. Either he was well trained, or he knew something.

"I knew it, Shelke." The scientist moaned, looking miserably at the young warrior.

"I have no acquaintances in WRO." Shelke looked coldly at the deformed woman.

"We've both changed so much." The scientist continued, looking heartbroken at the girl. "No, you haven't changed at all. Not in... ten years." Shelke's eyes grew wide. "Shelke, it's me, Shalua. I've been searching for you for so long." Shalua started towards her, but Shelke activated an EMP rod, forcing her back.

"Don't take another step." Shelke's eyes began to glow bright orange.

"Shelke..."

"It doesn't matter who I am or who you are. My current mission as a Deepground soldier is all that is relvant." Shelke pulled out her other EMP rod.

But Shalua persisted. "No, it does matter. Even though ten years have passed your still Shelke, my only sister!" Shelke lowered her rods and looked to the floor.

"Ten years. Has it been that long? The day they came to take me away, I was told I had potential. But those words were nothing but a precursor to a decade of suffering. They manipulated my mind until I was a shadow of my original self" Shelke said as she looked back up. "The pain, the fear, for ten years I lived in a hell far deeper…than anything you could imagine. But…look at me; I should be nineteen this year. If I don't receive my daily dose of mako, this body won't last a day" She the looked back up at Shalua and continued. "However, I don't consider myself a least bit unfortunate. Except…that for so long I held on to a foolish thread of hope that someday, someone would come to save me."

"I'm sorry, Shelke. I'm so sorry" Shalua said while starting to cry. She fell to her knees holding her face in her hands. Laurel rolled her eyes. Even Raize would have a hard time stomaching this without making them shut up.

"I'm sorry, Shelke. I'm so sorry" Shalua said while starting to cry. She fell to her knees holding her face in her hands.

"It's time to put the past behind us" Shelke said as she activated her rods and once again point one at Shalua.

"Stop this!" Reeve exclaimed as he rushed in.

"Reeve Tuesti" Shelke said taking her blade away from Shalua to point it at him.

"So, you are Shalua's younger sister"

"Excellent, now I can put an end to both of you at once" Laurel smiled. Now it was interesting again.

"Look at her. That's the price Shalua has paid fighting Shinra for the last ten years" and just like that, it returned to the sentimintality of just seconds before. Shelke looked briefly at her sister, than back at Reeve. "She has given more then her arm, more than her eye. She has put her life on the line time and time again. All to find her lost sister" Shelke lowered her rods and looked at Shalua while she listened. "More than half her organs have been reconstructed, not a day has gone by when Shalua doesn't suffer the pain of a hundred souls" Now Reeve looked down at her too. "But still she…"

"Enough" Shelke interrupted and Reeve looked back at her. "I've…I've heard enough" She lifted her rods again and Vincent pointed the Cerberus at her. Here, Laurel tensed. If Valentine were to die, this entire mission would be for nothing. She had never failed before, and she certainly wouldn't now. Just as she was about to leap in and kill the Tsviet, Duke appeared behind her and held her arm down.

"Just wait." he whispered in her ear.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to kill her." the kid walked up to Shelke while Vadha and Valentine watched. "Man, how dumb can you be, I guess ten years underground can really melt someone't brain, huh Shelke." Duke smirked. The kid didn't mean it. Years of heavy gambling gave you a detector for these kind of things.

"You're going to fight me alone?" Shelke stared incredulously at the boy.

"No," he said, drawing his blades. "I'm going to kick your ass alone!" His blades turned into the silvery energy of Chaos and then formed into a pair of hand blades, five on each hand.

Shelke rushed him and he blocked her stab. He blocked her next attack and tried to kicked her away, but she appeared behind him and attacked. He jumped, away. The battle continued for some time, neither of them able to make any headway. One time, it appeared that the boy would disarm her, but his blades were stopped at the last second. She phased behind him and struck him in the side with one of the rods.

"Ouch, you're pretty strong for having the body of a nine-year-old, now it's my turn to kick butt."He moved away, then charged his right hand with energy, and drove it into the ground crying "**Humus Vis!**"Trails of Chaos energy left the blades and coursed through the ground, following the Tsviet and finally converging beneath her in a massive explosion. She landed unconcious by the crater that wa filled with Chaos energy.

"Shelke!" Shalua said as she ran to lift her little sister of the ground. The boy went over to the crater, and peered down into it.

"What the hell is that Duke?" Laurel murmured.

"I'm not sure." Duke answered. "I looks like a mini focal point."

"What is that?" Reeve asked.

"I'm not sure." the boy stated. "What caused the crater and slammed Shelke into the wall was just the backlash blast of the scars colliding, this must have been caused by the energy I used to make the scars in the first place."

"Do you think it's dangerous?"

"If I'm correct, it's only dangerous if you completely fall inside, cause you probably wouldn't be able to get back out" He reached his hand in and felt around. "I knew it; this is a portal to the Chaos Internum."

Duke and Laurel looked at each other. "How does he know about the Internum?" Duke muttered to himself. They heard the voices continue.

"It's a realm between all worlds, made completely out of raw Chaos energy." Stated Vadha. Duke and Laurel looked at each other again.

"How does he know that?" Laurel murmurmed, neither of them paying attention to what was being said. "These are things that few know. Not even all of the Company know about this. How do these nobodies know?"

"Hey guys, I think there's someone here!" The boy pulled out an arm, then a head. Soon, a young girl lay on the ground before him, her dark brown hair flared out across the floor. Blond bangs fell over her hazel eyes. The boy stared at her, transfixed, his eyes wandering over her white, long sleeved shirt, and down to the plaid miniskirt and thigh high socks.

Laurel rolled her eyes. "Oh great, puberty." Duke chuckled.

"Huh, hey, where am I?" The girl shook her head groggily and stood up.

"WRO headquarters." the boy explained. "You were drifting around in the Chaos Internum."

"Chaos what? How the hell did I get here?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me that, you're lucky I found you; there ain't no way to survive in there."

"Well, I was looking through the cavern of stolen faith for a good hiding spot, when I accidentally stepped on a teleporting platform, then tripped into a large hole in the back of the cave. I fell through this strange, darkish red and purple space that started getting silvery the further I fell. After a while of falling, I found myself floating in the middle of a silver space, I fell asleep and the next thing I know, I wake up here." She answered, looking around.

"Cavern of the stolen... you're from Spira?" the kid exclaimed.

"No duh," She stared at him like he was a moron. "Where are you from, dummy land?"

Looking a each other, Duke and Laurel slipped out down the passage. Just as he was slipping out, Duke pulled out a coin, smaller than his grenade versions, and flung it at the young man. It stuck onto the back of his coat. The mercenary, Vadha, flicked his eyes in Duke's direction, but the two had already disappeared.

The two bolted down corridors and up the stairs. Rounding a corner, Laurel suddenly jumped, drawing out her wristblades. Duke spun and barely dodged a massive explosion. Azul stood before him, holding cannon. "Hm, not bad." Behind him, Laurel picked up a pistol from the ground. "But tell me," Azul prepared to fire his cannon again, "Was that skill, or just luck?"

Duke smirked as he drew out several cards. "I'm not sure, let's find out." He tossed the cards at the giant Tsviet. They bounced off of Azul's force field.

"Ha." Azul grinned. "You'll have to do better than that." Duke just jumped back from Azul's strike and kicked up a rifle into his hand. The giant roared and rushed Duke. Pulling a handful of cards from his jacket, Duke rolled to the side, firing at the man's defensive shield. Tossing the rifle to Laurel, he tossed the coins at Azul, over half of them exploding on contact. He spun one last coin in his fingers. Pressing on it's center, the coin began to glow blue. He threw the coin and it exploded in a flash of light. The barrier guarding Azul flickered, then died. "What?!" Azul turned and looked down at his exposed body.

Across the room, Laurel leveled the sights of the rifle at his head and squeezed off a shot. The bullet whistled through the air and exploded as it connected with a small piece of metal. "No." Duke held his hand out. "Stay out of this. It's my turn to get a workout." Laurel stared at him, and nodded, lowering the gun.

Azul chuckled. "You'll be getting more than just a workout."

"Maybe," Duke pulled a long knife out from his sleeve and spun it around in his hand. "But I doubt it." Azul hoisted his cannon and fired upon Duke. Spinning to the side, Duke threw a handful of cards. This time, they laced the Tsviets arms with razor thin lacerations. Azul growled and charged at his opponent, lashing out with his massive fists. But his prey dogded back away from his attacks. Ducking under his arm, Duke stabbed into it with his blade. Sliding between Azul's legs, Duke jumped up and kicked him in the back. The man stumbled forward and Duke threw another handful of coin grenades.

Their fight continued down the stairs, Azul causing massive destruction as Duke dodged his attacks, dancing around Azul and slowly cutting him with his cards. Laurel followed from not far behind. As they reached the landing below, Azul tossed his gun aside and charged Duke one last time. Spinning, Duke drove his dagger into the Tsviet's arm. Azul growled and pulled the blade from his arm, hurling it at it's owner. Ducking, Duke grab it from the air and slid between Azul's legs. Springing into the air, he pulled out a deck of cards in each hand. Summoning up a whirlwind above him, he lit them and drove himself into Azul, throwing the decks as he fell, propelled by his whirlwind. The floor beneath them cracked at the sudden force.

At his belt, a small screen blinked to life. A small blue dot blipped on the screen, nearing the red that represented Duke. The kid was coming. And with him would be Valentine. Azul wouldn't be able to handle them all, so there was no danger to either their prey or the Holder. And it wouldn't be prudent to kill Azul now. He could be useful later. Duke bent his legs and propelled himself upward, as Azul broke through the floor below. Lifting himself on the wind, Duke landed by Laurel. "Let's go." murmured, blowing a hole in the wall beside them. She nodded and they ran out into the night. The Holder was tagged, and where Valentine went, he was sure to follow. He had some sort of fascination with the man. And that would make him predictable.

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Liam gazed around at the ruined safehouse. Behind him, Ark was suspended by cords of light around his wrists. Blood was already streaming from mutliple puncture wounds. The prisoner shuddered as his master turned to face him. "And you saw no one? You expect me to believe that you were defeated by a group that you never even saw?"

Tears ran down Ark's face as he nodded. "Please sir, believe me. You can ask Caztel. He was here. He saw how they cut us down."

Liam walked passed his leiutenant and bent over the bodies of his men. "Caztel is gone." He said. "I sent him off in pursuit of the group. He confirmed your story before he left." Ark barely choked back his question before it brought about his death. But Liam answered the unsaid question anyway. "I do not doubt that he will die. He was barely able to move when he left. But you, you may still be able to do something for me."

"What is your will my master?"

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**Author's Note:** Wow, now that was a long one. But I guess that's what happens when you jam two chapters into one.


	5. Out in the Rain

**Out in the Rain**

The streets of Lymir were empty. They always were these days. The majority of the planet was involved in one war or another, with no end in sight. The original armies were now just shells, filled with hired guns from Diovni. Commanded by leaders from Diovni. Stocked with equipment from Diovni. The entire planet was in the palm of the company's hand, trapped in a never ending ware that no longer had real sides. Few understood what the fighting was about anymore.

Mirn pulled her hood up over her head as she trudged through the wreckage. Up above, in Diovni's floating headquarters, everything looked clean. The clouds were pure white, the sky a brilliant blue, the sun bright and warm. Down on the surface however, the sky was hardly ever seen, blotted out by the smoke of a thousand burning cities. Lymir had been hit by a small band of rebels a month ago. The rebels were small, to poor to afford mercenary help, equipped with second rate used guns. They had wreaked havoc for several hours and decimated most of the downtown before a unit could be called back from another battle to provide assistance. Now, the populace was holed up in the shelters scattered around the city. In the windows and on rooftops above Mirn soldiers clothed in slick ponchos patroled, high powered rifles in hand. A squad huddled around an APC saluted her as she passed. Nodding to them she continued down a back alley. She passed several other soldiers crowded around oil barrels fires. The soldiers grew sparser as she went.

Suddenly, as she was passing a door way, a pale white hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed her around the neck. She tried to scream, but another hand covered her mouth. She struggled as she was pulled back into the doorway, but was no match for the strength of her captor. Bright lights dazzled her eyes, then she lost consciousness. She came to later, lying in a back room. A single pale lightbulb sent a small circle of light out. Just outside the ring of illumination, a figure stood. He stood tall, a black long sleeved shirt bound with belts every few inches. His pants, long and black with the same belts strapped on over black combat boots. A black scarf hung around his neck. His sking was deathly pale, made even paler by his eyes. The irises were pitch black, just like his pupils. In his ears were a pair of cross earings, the skin around them burnt. A long black rapier hung from his waist. She struggled back against the wall, pressing her back to it. The man just stared. "Look at you." He smirked at her. "A scared child, running, running, running. But what are you running from little girl? Nothing. You dream of running." Mirn stared at him in fear. "You dream of flying, but you never will. You're like the bird with clipped wings. You're pathetic. Why do you stay with them? Don't you know what they are making you do? Do you know what he is making you do?" He strode into the light. It cast ghastly shadows on his face, looking almost like a skull. "Why do you not run?"

"Who are you?" She squeaked out.

"I am the truth. I am fear incarnate. I am your greatest desires."

"You're a load of bullshit, that's what you are." Both Mirn and her captor spun to see the voice's owner. The kidnappers hand sprung to his blade, but a chain wrapped around his wrist, jerking it away. Out of the shadows strode Leek. The chains around Leek's wrists connected him to the kidnapper. His giant buster sword was slung across his back. "Will you ever learn to shut up?"

"You!" the strange man spat out, struggling against the chains around his wrist. Suddenly, he spun, grabbing his blade with his free hand. He pulled it free of it's sheath and swung it at Leek. In the blink of an eye, Leek's sword was free. It connected with the man's rapier. A chain hanging on the buster sword wrapped around the thinner blade, snaking it's way up the mans arm. It bound him tight and pulled him close into Leek's face.

"Me." He sneered. Glancing over to Mirn, he said "Get out of here Mirn." She struggled to her feet and stumbled out the door, back out into the rain. When she was gone, Leek turned back to the man and winked. "So Rain, how's fate treating you?" He pushed Rain back against the wall, withdrawing his chains as he did so. They snaked back up to around Leek's wrists and buster sword. He turned the sword so that the hook was balanced on the ground and stared at Rain's burnt ears. "Not making much progress I see. Ah, well, chin up eh?"

Rain continued to just glare at Leek, his rapier clutched in his fist. He slowly stood up and leveled his blade at Leek. "Prepare to be judged, traitor." He sprung at Leek, trying to run him through, moving faster than the eye could follow, but his blade was deflected as easily as if it wasn't even moving. Spinning, Rain tried to kick Leek in the gut. His foot connected with rock hard resistance. The chains flew from Leek's wrists and wrapped around Rain's leg up under the pant leg. He grunted as he was lifted high up in the air, and then the chains slid off at high speed, causing deep cuts in his leg and dropping him seven feet onto his back. Blood bubbled up from the wounds and trickled out of the bottom of the pants as Rain stood again.

Leek shook his head. "Tsk tsk, is this the best you can do? You'll never be free at this rate." He lifted his sword and spun it once before resting it on his shoulder. "Of course, I could free you right now." He laughed. "But you're afraid of that aren't you. Afraid of meeting your punishment. How forgiving do you think the forces will be? Will they forgive you for what you are?"

Rain screamed. "SHUT UP!!!" He screeched. "SHUT UP!!!!" He sprung at Leek, sword swinging. Leek deftly dodged to the left, blocked a blow to his shoulder, and swung his sword to decapitate his opponent. Rain ducked under the blow and swung again, barely missing Leeks throat.

Leek smiled. "Now this is more like it." Rain unleashed a barrage of blows. Leek deflected them, utilizing his sword, chains and gauntlets to deflect the black metal. He jumped, kicked Rain in the chest and brought the hook down at Rain's chest. Rolling, Rain evaded the death blow and struck out a low swing at Leek's ankles.

Deflecting Rain's stike, Leek slid around Rain as he stood, and brought his sword up. It clipped the back of one of Rain's cross earings, and the jewelry dropped to the floor. Rain fell to his knees and clapped his hands over his ears, dropping his sword. "NO!!!! SHUT UP!!!!!!". Leek stared at him for a second, a mildly amused look on his face. He hooked the hook of his sword around Rain's neck and whispered into his ear.

"Can you hear him Rain? I know you can. He's always there isn't he? Always talking. Always tempting." He ran his fingers down Rain's neck, the chains wrapping around his victim's neck and chest. "I can silence him. I can set you free." He grabbed Rain's head roughly and turned his face so they were eye to eye. "You know what it is that I want Rain. Help me get it, and I can set you free."

They stared into each others' eyes for a few seconds. "Go to hell." Rain spat at him.

Leek lifted him up with the chains around his neck. "I've already been. You on the other hand... Well, you might find it a little more... Interesting" He gave a heave and threw Rain through a wall, and out into the stormy streets. "I'll let you live for now." Leek called out to him through the hole. "Remember my offer. You help me achieve my destiny, I free you from yours."

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Drumming his fingers on his desk, Leek reflected on that offer. It had been three years since he had last seen Rain. He had only heard rumors of his whereabouts since. Sighing, he lifted himself up from his chair and headed out of his room, saluting the two security guards in the hall just outside. He roamed the halls of the floating fortress, absorbed in his thoughts. Things were moving quickly now. He had not anticipated for things to accelerate like they had. But now that they were moving. He headed to his office. Jillian and Raize were waiting for him.

Leek waved aside two Svaminii as he entered his private office. Inside Raize stood with Jillian. Between them, a young girl was bound and on her knees. Leek squatted down in front of her and lifted her chin with a finger. Her eyes were misted over. He glanced at Jillian. "Drugged?" She nodded. "How much?"

"I would think maybe thirty CCs. I gave her one of the Embryos to bring her around. She was awake for a while, but then the Embryo wore off and she ended up like this."

Leek stood. "Interesting."

Raize looked over at him. _**One of my men just came back from Gaia. Duke and Laurel have been monitering both Valentine and the new Holder, as per your request.**_

"And?"

Raize brought up a video on one of the computers in the room. _**He appears to no longer be working alone. A number of others have joined him. A few of them are known to us. **_The assassin brought up a few files. _**Vadha azaa Jyotis. Bounty hunter. He has detailed knowledge of both Chaos and Void energy. Eden, last name unknown. Mercenary, ex-SOLDIER First Class. One of professor Hojo's experiments. We don't know what was done to him, but if he was given Jenova cells, it could help our study of using Chaos Embryos.**_ He brought up another file. _**And finally,Tessitura Sordina. Born on earth, highly successful student. She has been traveling across worlds for a while, taking notes on the various connections.**_

"What about the others?"

Raize shrugged. _**No one worthwhile apparently. Just a ragtag group of fighters. None of them are any real threat. **_He glanced sideways at Leek. _**Are you sure this one is really the Holder? He seems... unfit. Not even he is much more powerful than the Tsviets. Are you sure this isn't a mistake.**_

Leek nodded. "Positive. We weren't anticipating the Holder yet, but this is definitely him. Do we have a way to track him? We shouldn't be wasting manpower on following him if we can."

_**Duke tagged him with a tracking device. We will be able to follow him wherever he goes. **_

"Excellent." He turned to Jillian. "Are you certain you left no evidence of our involvement in the raid? If Liam discovers something that links it to us, he could easily bring us down."

The Svaminii shook her head. "It was clean. We got in and out while they were all still unconcious. I even picked up the shell from the concussor." She handed the metal casing to him. "No evidence."

Leek smiled. "Good"

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They stared at each other. Duke raised an eyebrow. Laurel narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "So, how was the water?" He asked snidely. Laurel shook the water from her hair and glared at him some more. She was dripping wet from head to foot.

"You try following undetected across an entire ocean." she muttered. "It's not exactly easy to stay dry clinging to the side of a boat." Duke smirked. She stormed passed him. "Come on, they had a good hours head start."

"You can take your time." Duke walked behind her and and swung onto the bike in front. "The attack just started. I saw them approaching the Deepground base. They may have just gotten inside, but I doubt it." Off in the distance, gunfire and explosions echoed. Duke grunted. "Come on, we need to get there before Valentine or the kid get killed." Laurel nodded and they were off. She cast a quick Haste spell, and they arrived on the battlefield in no time. Rushing through the soldiers, cutting down those that got in their way indiscriminately, they broke into Deepground's HQ. Duke glanced around, trying to remember the blueprints he'd seen of the base, then pointed off to the left. "That way." Laurel nodded and they ran down the hallways.

A beeping stopped Duke in his tracks. He pulled the small computer from his pocket and glanced at it. "The kid's nearby." He said to Laurel. "I'd say about two rooms over and a floor down."

"Whadda we do?"

Duke glanced at the screen. "Valentine belongs here, on this world. He ain't going anywhere. This guy on the other hand..." Duke continued to look at the computer. "He's well ahead of the rest of the WRO forces." He muttered. "So, either Valentines with him, or he's out fighting Deepground lackeys. Valentine will be fine if that's the case." He stowed the computer away again and put his hand to a wall, listening for movement. Behind him, Laurel folded her arms and tapped her foot. Duke removed a coin from his pouch and stuck it in the wall. A small red light started to blink. "Back away." He took a few steps back towards Laurel. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into her, rubbing against him slightly. An explosion later, they were streaking down the halls towards where the Chaos Holder was.

As they entered the room, the smell of smoke met their nostrils. Everything was on fire. A young girl lay on the ground unconcious. Duke bent down by her. "Can't you wait till later for that?" Laurel sighed exasperated. Ignoring her, Duke reached down towards the girls neck.

In his fingers was a small dart. He looked closely at it. "Tranq dart." He muttered, placing it back in the wound. "Valentine must've come through here. No one else would've left her alive." He looked up, in the direction of the sounds of combat. "Come on, we're getting close." They ran through the halls. Voices came from ahead.

A bright light stopped them in their tracks. Stretching up into the sky was a giant being, semmingly encased in winged armor. Spirals came from it like legs and burrowed into the planet. Lines of mako stretched from all over the continent. Laurel and Duke gazed up at it in awe. "Omega." whispered Laurel. An instant later, Valentine, in the form of Chaos, burst out of the gianst head. He tried to attack Omega again and again, but was repelled each time. A red and gold air ship ascened up towards Omega.

"Let's move." Duke ran towards the giant, Laurel matching him stride for stride. As they ran, Omega turned to stone. Laurel stopped for a second.

"What the..." But Duke grabbed her arm.

"Let's go. We can't let Valentine die yet." They kept running. Then, Omega exploded out of the stone again, it's wings larger than the body itself. Giving a mighty flap, it rose into the sky. "Damn it!" Duke cried out and stopped, staring as Omega took their prize away. "Shit!" He was just turing away to make the phone call that he never wanted to make, when Luarel grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"Look." She pointed up to Omega. A purple streak had started at it's head and was cutting down through it. It burst out the bottom and they saw Valentine. Duke stowed his phone in his pocket. Then, Omega exploded. They sheilded their eyes from the bright light. When it had passed, they saw tiny particles of green and red falling from the heavens. In the sky, the boy fell down to the ground, the ship chasing after him. Valentine flipped once in the air, then landed on the roof of a nearby building. He fell to a knee and grabbed his chest. Laurel smiled. "Shall we?" They both bent their knees and jumped, landing on a roof one over from Valentine. He looked up and drew his gun.

Duke loosed a card and Cerebus fell from Valentine's hand. "Now, now, now, we can't have any of that, now can we?" He smirked at Valentine. The man just stared at them for a second, then dove for his gun. Laurel was there a split second before he was, Cerebus under her boot.

She smiled. "I like it when my men beg for their toys." Valentine swung his leg out and tripped her. She caught herself as she fell, and jumped back onto her feet. Valentine alread had Cerebus in his hand and squeezed off a shot as the barrels grew level with Laurel's face. She laughed as she materialized behind him. "Almost. But try a little harder next time." She punched him in the gut and brought her knee up to smash his face. Valentine dodged and jumped to another roof. Duke was waiting for him. The roof exploded with dozens of grenades.

Falling to a lower roof, Valentine reloaded. Duke landed in front of him. Valentine raised his arm to shoot, but Laurel disarmed him from behind. He lashed out at her with his gauntlet. She rolled aside and charged into him, knocking both of them off the roof. The landed, causing a crater beneath them, near a group of celebrating WRO soldiers. They turned to help, but Laurel froze them in their tracks. Duke landed between Valentine an Laurel, unleashing a barrage of card attacks. Laurel drew a long knife from a leg sheath, and suddenly appeared behind the WRO soldiers. All their throats were slit. She restarted time and the fell to the ground in pools of crimson.

In his fight, Duke lept up to a building roof. Valentine drew the his Griffon machine gun and unleashed a hail of bullets at his adversary. Duke pulled out a pair of decks of cards and threw them out. They formed a grid in front of him. As each bullet hit a card, he dodged it. The cards spun around and around as Valentine continued to fire. Suddenly, he dropped the gun. A number of cords wrapped around him, with blinking red lights set at regular intervals. Behind him, Laurel held a short short stick that all the cords connected to. "Whaddya know?" she smirked. "I guess the nerd is good for something after all."

Duke descended down in front of their captive. He pulled out a deep red, transparent cude. "Now you have a choice here." He knelt in front of Valentine. "You can either give us Chaos voluntarily, or we can force it out of you." He grabbed Valentine by the neck and pulled him in close. "And believe me, the forced way hurts."

Valentine glared at him. "Chaos is gone." He murmered. Duke stood up.

"You lie." he hissed.

Valentine just smirked. "Do what you want. I don't know who you are, but you will never get Chaos."

Duke's eyes narrowed. Laurel jerked back on the bonds, pulling Valentine over. "Oh, I'll do what I want." she growled glaring down at him. She ran her fingernail across his lips, causing them to bleed. "But don't let the nice act fool you. I can be a bad, bad girl." She stuck the finger in her mouth and licked off the blood. "I like it when my boy toys bleed." She pulled a curved knife from it's sheath and stood.

A chain flew out and wrapped around Laurels arm. She dropped the cord's stick and they retracted. Valentine lept to his feet as Duke was pulled down by two chains that erupted from the ground. Another caught Valentine in the chest and pinned him to a wall. Leek strode into the light, the chains wrapped around his wrists. He was flanked by several Svanimii. "The package stays unspoiled." He motioned to a Svanamii. "Check him."

The soldier pulled out a small device and held it up to Valentines chest. It beeped. She turned back to Leek. "Protomateria is intact and secure, sir."

Laurel struggled. "You are going to pay this time you son of a bitch. Who gave you authority to interfere with our mission?!"

"I did."

Laurel shrunk back and Duke winced as Diovni stepped forward. He was guised as a tall man, slender, with slicked back grey hair. His suit was impeccably sized and clean. This was the Master's favorite form. "Master." Laurel and Duke bowed their heads. Doivni waved to Leek.

"Release them." Leek nodded, and the chains withdrew from the two. "I apologize that I couldn't warn you of this, but Leek only just discovered that Chaos was indeed released from Mr. Valentine's body. We had to act fast to prevent you from causing damage to the other uses that he has for us." Leek motioned to the Svanimii and they left, returning with a cryo-tube. Leek lowered Valentine in. The effects were instantaneous. Valentine quit moving and lay as motionless as a corpse. The Svanimii then wheeled him into the airship that awaited nearby. Diovni motioned to Duke and Laurel. "Come." They all piled into the airship and it rose. "I trust that you tagged the Holder?" Diovni inquired. Duke nodded. Diovni leaned back. "Good." He smiled, his eyes half closed. "Very good."

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**Author's Note:** Okay, well, we kind of finished on the same time. After this, I'm going to start drifting away from recounting the last chapters in PoaG. We've been doing brainstorming, and now DAP is going to have a more independent role in the plot. I would apologize for the long wait, but I don't feel like it, so there.


	6. Recap

**Recap**

Okay, this is just a short recap of characters introduced and what all was happening.

Duke and Laurel: On Gaia tracking Vincent Valentine. Discovered new Holder (Senio) and captured Vincent Valentine.

Leek: Monitered focal points with Mirn. Assists Raziel with kidnapping Maria Mareli from Liam. Flashbacks to fight with Rain. Captures Vincent Valentine.

Liam: Ensures Diovni Arms and Protection's dominance over the Mareli crime organization. Kidnaps Maria Mareli, who is later kidnapped from him.

Mirn: Studies focal points.

Raize: Opened Key Holes (not chronolized). Assists Leek in kidnapping Maria Mareli from Liam.

**Characters**

Maxwell Diovni: Leader of the company Diovni Arms and Protection. A shapeshifter of enormous power.

Duke: One of Diovni's generals. Uses cards as throwing stars and coins as grenades in combat.

Laurel: One of Diovni's generals. Uses time magic, hand to hand combat, knives, and any weaponst she procures from fallen foes.

Leek: One of Diovni's generals. Uses chains wrapped around arms and hooked buster sword. Commands the Svanimii special forces.

Liam: One of Diovni's generals. Uses Holy magic. A manipulator, rarely fights himself.

Mirn: One of Diovni's generals. Scientist. Can't use any magic, but develops technology capable of capturing and manipulation Chaos energy.

Raize: One of Diovni's generals. Assassin. Wields power of darkness and two pistols that can be combined into any other form of firearm. Commands the Shadow's Claw special forces.

Leonardo Mareli: A mob leader on Earth. Has a daughter named Maria.

Maria Mareli: Daughter of gangster Leonardo Mareli. Kidnapped by Liam. Later kidnapped from Liam by Svanimii and Shadow's Claw units.

Rain: A former acqaintence of Leek. Once tried to convince Mirn to leave DAP.

**Organizations**

Diovni Arms and Protection (DAP): A military company present on many worlds. Provides weapons, vehicles and troops to many militaries.

Mareli Crime Syndicate: A Earthen crime ring headed by Leonardo Mareli.

Svanimii (mistress): The special forces unit commanded by Leek. Made up entirely of women.

Shadow's Claw: The special forces unit commanded by Raize. Consists only of young boys under the age of 20.


	7. Special Operations

**Special Operations**

"Making the incision now." The scalpel drew a long line of blood. "Alright, let's see what we've got here." The doctor moved aside as Mirn, her face covered with a medical mask and hair in a hairnet, and bent over the 'patient'.

"It looks like it's under the rib cage. Just above the right lung." She reached back to a nurse. "We are going to need to move some ribs." The nurse handed her a tool and Mirn reached in. Bracing her hand against the side of the rib cage and hooking the utensil under the ribs, she bent them up. A snap resounded as hairline cracks appeared along the pinkish bones. She handed the tool back to a nurse and removed the bones from the chest. Taking a metal rod and a pair of tweezers, she moved the lung down until the protomateria was exposed. She gently pulled it out and gazed at the blue orb.

Leek's voice came in over the intercom. "Excellent. Bring it out here."

Mirn looked over at the doctor. "Close him up, then move him to the cell." The doctor nodded and placed the ribs back against their roots. Wrapping a pale putty around the seperation lines, he laid the skin that had been pulled back away from the ribcage back across it and proceeded to sew the man up. Mirn exited the room, pulled her medical mask down from around her face and walked to where Leek was waiting.

He held his hand out and she placed the protomateria in it. She shuddered as the claws of his gauntlets closed around the swirling contents. He raised it to his face and gazed at it hungrily. "Good, good." He glanced at Mirn. "Diovni wants you in the lab." She nodded and exited the room. Leek continued to stare at the protomateria as a Svanimii walked up behind him with a decorated box. He placed the protomateria in the box and closed it's lid. "Alert me when he's awake." He murmered to the Svanimii as they wheeled the patient back to his room.

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Valentine groaned as he regained consciousness. The last thing he remembered was the two that had attacked him after the fight with Omega, and then being wrapped in chains. There had been two other men there, one with the chains around him and one in a black suit, tall and mysterious. He rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow as the door opened. In strode the man that had bound him in chains. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his chest forced him back down. The man closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry for any soreness you may feel." He pulled a chair over and sat down in it. "It should pass shortly as the bonding agent seals your broken ribs. But where are my manors. I am Leek."

Valentine stared at him for a second. "Where am I?" He murmured, shaking his head.

"In the headquarters of our company. You just got out of a major surgery." Leek told him. He continued to watch Valentine intently. There was something in Leek's eyes that Valentine didn't like, but whenever he tried to place it, his attention seemed to drift elsewhere.

"You're company?"

Leek smiled. "Yes, we were beginning to open a small corner of business in Gaia before your sudden defeat of Deepground's leader." Leek leaned back. "I must say, Mr. Diovni was a bit dissapointed when the fighting ended before we could even start to do anything. Although, it's partly our own fault. We were holding off Deepground reinforcements while your men were attacking the base. We thought that helping you would extend the fighting." He let out a harsh laugh. "Instead, it just brought the end faster."

"So you're a PMC?"

Leek nodded. He looked closely at Valentine. "Although, I do wonder. How were you able to defeat all the Tsviets all by yourself, yet you gave Laurel and Duke little trouble at all? They were hard pressed _not_ to kill you!"

Valentine looked down at his hands. "It wasn't me."

Leek sat up straighter. "What?"

Valentine looked at him. "It wasn't me." He repeated. "It was this kid. Senio. Senio Wakesune. And some friends of his."

"A kid..." Leek layed back and wondered. "I think I know who you are talking about. While Laurel and Duke were tracking you, they sent back reports of a young man who displayed encredible control over Chaos energy." He adjusted his gauntlet under the chains. "Could it have been the same person?"

Valentine shrugged and lay back. Leek stared at him for a bit, his arms crossed. An alarm sounded. Then another. A burst of black fire, and Raize stood in the room, just behind Leek's chair. _**Master Diovni wants you. It seems we may have a rogue.**_ Leek nodded and stood.

"Until our next chat, Mr. Valentine. I certainly hope you come to see me as a companion. You won't get a chance to meet many, so I suggest you make the best of what company you will have." He swept out of the room, followed by Raize. They met Duke running down the hall.

"What's going on?" Duke asked.

_**Diovni wants us in his quaters. Someone has gone rogue.**_

"Do we know who?"

Leek shook his head. "No." But he had a pretty good idea.

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Three floors below them, Mirn ran through the twisting coridors, tears running down her face. She ducked behind a corner as a squad of soldiers passed. Holding her breath, she waited as they passed less then five feet from her. "Squads seven and thirteen reporting in." One of the soldiers said into his mic. "South port is locked down. She's not getting out this way." He nodded as someone said something to him over the channel, then motioned for his men to continue on.

Slipping out from her hiding place, Mirn headed down to the bay that the soldiers had just sealed off. She opened the control box by the door and disconnected two of the wires. The door slid open and she darted out towards the ships.

"Going somewhere?"

She stopped short and turned to Liam. He stood just beside the door, a cigarette clamped between his teeth. He looked at her, his eyes burrowing into her soul. He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her. "Stay back!" She pulled a pistol shaped piece of equipment from her hip and leveled it at him. A row of lights lit up along it's barrel. He stopped in his tracks, looking at her.

Then, Mirn stiffened as a blade was placed to her throat. "Now, now, now." Laurel's voice murmured into her ear. "You wouldn't want to scar his pretty face, would you?" Liam walked to a panel and turned off the alarm.

"Mr. Diovni, we have her."

Mirn closed her eyes against the tears as she dropped her gun. She had made a mistake, and now she would pay for it.

They entered Diovni's office just a Raize dissapeared. Diovni was talking to Duke quietly as Leek twisted his chains into various shapes, leaning back in a deep seated chair. Diovni answered Liam's questioning glance without even looking up. "Raize has an assignment to complete elsewhere." He looked up and stared at Mirn's face. Her hands were in handcuffs and Laurel held a dagger blade to her throat. Diovni waved her down and Laurel put her dagger away. He continued to stare at Mirn. Her eyes were downcast and dead. "Why." She glanced up at him, ashamedly. "Why. After all I have done for you? After we took you in? After we supplied your every need?" He stood and turned to the shaded window, parting two shades. "I wish you hadn't done what you did Mirn. Don't worry, I don't plan on killing you." He closed his eyes and let the shades close. "But I can't have this happening again." Mirn's handcuffs fell off and her right arm was pulled straight by an invisible force. She struggled to pull back, but it was no use. Black shadows crept up from her fingers and across her hand. She screamed as the shadows progressed until up to half-way towards her elbow. Then, her pitch black middle finger began to evaporate.

Smoke filled the room. Acrid smoke entered everyones lungs. Laurel let out a hacking cough. Tears streamed down Mirn's face as her hand evaporated. Once all of the shadow covering her arm had evaporated, the force holding Mirn up disappeared and she fell to her knees, clutching the bleeding stump of her arm. Diovni stared down at her, his eyes cold. "Don't dissapoint me again."

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A squadron of Shadow's Claw troops lay in wait by the Mii'Hen highroad. They had just shipped in a few days before, to back up Diovni forces hired by the Al Bhed Restorative Movement to fight the armies of Yevon. It was time for operation "Lowroad". A convoy of Yevon supplies and soldiers was scheduled to travel by way of the Mii'hen Highroad to reinforce their brethren at the front. Raize had brought his own private soldiers in to make absolutely sure that not a single man made it to the front. They were the best of his men, all of them had been loyal soldiers for almost two decades.

A pair of soldiers lay in wait behind the rocks, swords drawn. They had been with the Shadow's Claw for almost their whole life. Each was approaching their twenty-first birthday. Most of the regiment deployed for this operation was. They all sat tense. Everyone knew that Shadow's Claw operatives rarely saw their twenty-first birthday. These men didn't intend to fit the norm. So, they waited, eyes wide and ears perked for the slightest movement. A few of them drew wetstones over their blades. Others cleaned and loaded their guns.

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A squad of five of Diovni's soldiers huddled around a fire before a tall building. Screams and crying echoed from inside. One of the soldiers adjusted his helmet and blew into his hands to warm them. Slowly, the screaming subsided into subdued sobbing. A sixth soldier exited the building, zipping up his pants. He grinned to his fellow squadmates. "So, who's next?"

"I wouldn't mind a turn." A man walked into walked into the light of the fire. He was tall, his skin a deep black. His crimson eyes glittered in the light under untidy brown hair. An open grey vest exposed his tone chest. His pants were grey and loose fitting above curved up shoes. He wore black combat gloves and around his neck hung a heart necklace with the image of a naked woman.

"And once you boys are done with her, feel free to move on to the real entertainment." From the other side of the fire, a woman entered, her skin just as black as the man's. Her eyes were the opposite of the man's, grey irises with crimson pupils, and her long flowing brown hair fell almost to her waist. She wore a transparent dress over her curvy body. White straps covered her breasts and the area between her legs. Her shoes were pointed high heels. Long white gloves went up to her elbows. Her necklace was heart shaped as well, with a naked man. The men stared at her, entranced. She twisted a whip in her hands.

"Why don't you two just hurry up and get this over with? I got shit to do." The soldiers all jumped as they noticed for the first time that another man stood in their midst. A tall man with long curly hair framing his dark face and brown eyes. He wore blue denim jeans and black boots, a tight black shirt and sleeveless denim jacket. He looked about bored. His eyes paused for a moment on the window of a nearby building. Standing, he looked to his two dark skinned companions. "Well, I've done my job. Come and get me when you're done." He crossed the street while the two smiled wickedly.

Entering the building, he made his way slowly up to the top level. He passed by burnt out rooms and flickering lights until he came out onto the roof. Standing by the edge, whatching the two confronting the soldiers down below, was a man. Leek turned around as the door closed. "It's good to see you again Keith."

Keith smiled falsely. "Leek, my friend, it's been to long. We've missed you."

Leek motioned down to the two below. "So, I see that Jake and Marren are still the same as ever. And how is everyone else?"

Keith shrugged. "Pretty much the same. Rain left a while ago. And, of course, you know what happen to Lucius." Leek smiled. "I'd been wondering where you were. To be honest, ever since you left things haven't gone quite as well. It's pathetic really, following Raziel." A cloud of blackness formed in Keith's palm. He twirled it around his fingers.

"Call them off." Leek watched as Jake and Marren began to do what they did. The soldiers were steadily pulled down into their shadows. They screamed, and clawed at the ground, trying to grip something, but it was no use. They were slowly pulled deeper and deeper into the blackness of their souls. "I can't have my men being taken by anyone not working for me, now can I?"

Keith let out a laugh. "And why would I call them off?" He raised his hand to send the cloud of emptiness at Leek. Then he heard the metallic click of a gun cocking behind him. He froze and a voice echoed in his head as the cold barrel of a pistol was pushed to his head.

_**Now.**_ The blackness in his hand was sucked away. He followed it with his eyes as it flew behind him. Raize absorbed it and pulled out a second pistol. This one he aimed down at Jake and pulled the trigger, moving his hand as if he had fired a shot. _**Call them off now. Or none of you leave alive. **_Keith stared back at the young man, then nodded. Leek smiled.

"Good. Be sure to give the others my regards." He turned and started towards the other side of the roof. "And if you learn anything about Rain, let me know. Raize here will be keeping an eye on you, so I'm sure that will be enough incentive to not attempt to take out men again." He stared down at the soldiers screaming in disgust. "Even if they do have... unsavory habits."

Keith smiled at Leek's retreating back. "Of course. Although, I must say, you should come back. I could use you." He felt the pistil move away from his head and turned to see Raize's black fire dissapating. Leek had already dissapeared from view.

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**Author's Note: **And so we begin to explore the universe of DAP on it's own. Remember Keith, Jake and Marren. K-e-i-t-h, J-a-k... Well you get it. Got it memorized? They and their 'friends' will be appearing in both fics soon.


	8. Operation Lowroad

**Operation Lowroad**

Excerpt from Raize's personal records:

Operation Lowroad was a success. The Shadow's Claw accomplished their objective, and those that died, died well.

I had placed the senior Claw member's just alongside the road. We had received intel from a reliable source that Yevon forces were about to transport supplies and man power to their allies combating the Al Bhed Restorative Movement. We have worked with the Movement before, but this was our first large scale battle since they had begun to challenge Yevon outright. Now, they had requested that we cut off Yevon supply lines. I was not present at the beginning of the ambush, so I will surmise what I can from the vid feeds of my men and their own reports.

The first Yevon supplies passed into the ambush site at 0800. First Claw Daniel was in charge of the first post. He radioed back in to the main command as the supply convoy moved past, reciting back numbers of troops and wagons. At his first count there were one hundred and thirty-seven foot soldiers, seventy three chocobo mounted knights, and twenty-seven wagons of supplies. He also reported that a squad of magic users had been deployed, thirteen in all. They passed through his zone and into the ambush site. The trap was ready to be sprung fourty-five minutes after 1C Daniel first radioed in.

First Claw Luca and Second Claw Richard headed the initial charge. They led thirty of the fifty soldiers we had deployed. Third Claw Kent was in charge of providing sniper support from the ridge above to make sure that no Yevon worshippers escaped. FC Luca met the first line of mounted knights and struck two down with a single swipe of his large blade. Another was cut down by SC Richard and a third was shot from the ridge by Fourth Claw Maximillion. The remainder of the First and Second Claws came in from all sides and cut into the Yevon troops. First Claw Tyler took a spear to the shoulder and SC Samuel was knocked from the cliff, tumbling down with four Yevon troops he had been grappling with. 1C Daniel led his squad up from behind the convoy and cut into their flanks, catching them by surprise and killing eight of the thirteen magic users. Soon less than thirty Yevon foot soldiers remained, commanded by twelve Chocobo knights and two magic users providing support. The Claw had taken few casualties, three deaths and two incapacitated.

Then, Yevon reinforcements arrived from behind. The Yevon commanders had anticipated an ambush and had a legion of Chocobo knights and magic users follow from behind. When the ambush was sprung, the reinforcements had swept up from behind and attacked the Shadow's Claw from the rear. The gun support from the ridge had already begun to leave, believing their part in the battle to be over. Several squads had already boarded the APCs we had transported to Spira to reinforce Restorative Movement forces. As such, only fourteen gunners were able to come back to provide support to the surprised strike squad. The beleagered soldiers quickly slew the remnants of the original convoy's escort and took up a circle formation. Seven of the strike squad had been slain in the Chocobo's first rush.

The battle lasted for almost an hour. Though the Shadow's Claw fought valiantly, they were soon overwhelmed. The snipers from the ridge aided in thinning the enemies forces, but in the end it wasn't enough. I arrived with reinforcements as the strike force's numbers dwindled to twelve. Though they had killed hundreds of Yevon soldiers, they were far outnumbered and couldn't last much longer. I gave orders to my number two, SC Bernard, to have thirty men assist the snipers on the ridge, thirty move to cut off any more Yevon reinforcements, and for the last forty to attack the remaining Yevon cavalry. I drew my pair of pistols and warped into the middle of the six remaining Shadow's Claw. Appearing in the middle of their circle, I spun and began firing into the knights. I rushed forward through a hole that my men made in their circle for me, assembling my guns into a pair of single hand SMGs.

Jumping over the closest knight, I fired three shots into his skull, then landed on the back of another, knocking him from his mount. I turned and fired six more shots. Six more knights fell from their mounts. I rolled as I hit and warped as a knight tried to stab me with his spear. Appearing in the air behind him, I kicked and snapped his neck, then turned in midair and emptyed both my clips into a crowd of yellow and silver bodies. I jumped, kicking off of armored bodies. I proppeled myself up onto a boulder and surveyed the scene. My men were advancing from behind and cutting down knights. I dodged a spear thrown at me from behind, and jumped back, reloading my guns in midair.

Landing behind my attackers, I shot one in the back three times. Grabbing another around the throat, I used him as a human shield as I shot each of his companions, twisting his neck as I finished. Then, turning, I was stabbed in the chest. A soldier stood before me, bleeding, the sword clutched in his outstretched hand. "Take that you son of a bitch." He sneered at me. I warped into a shadow and reapeared behind him, darmed him and stabbed his sword into his stomach. "Who are y-" His cliched question was cut off as I fired several more times into his back. He went limp and I let him fall to the ground. Around me, Yevon soldiers tried to flee, but were quickly terminated by the snipers on the cliff. I inspected the scene. Over a thousand Yevon knights and their slain Chocobos lay on the ground, along with all of the First and Second Claws that had been a part of the strike force.

In conclusion, the mission was a complete success. I had known of the Yevon reinforcements, and had delibrately only deployed the senior members of the Shadow's Claw. As all members of the Claw know, few operatives live past the age of 20. It is a part of the creed that all Shadow's Claw members are sent on a mission that invariably results in death at it's conclusion. Supressing the rebellious instincts is difficult, and once the person reaches the age of 20 it is extremely difficult to continue to keep the feelings inside.

End of entry

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Back at DAP headquarters, Mirn sat in her lab. Plants and cages of exotic animals were all along the walls. She sat at her workbench, her right stump laying on the cold metal. She winced as sparks flew from the tool she was using to attach the skeletal metal hand to the stump. She raised it to her face and flexed the steel fingers before her face, watching the light reflect from the cybernetic appendage. She spun as the door whooshed open. "How's the hand?" Liam lit up a cigarette.

"Uh, Liam could you not..." She faltered as he stared at her, blowing a smoke ring into the air. Turning back to her arm, she connected the last few wires and stood. She turned and found herself face to face with Liam. He breathed smoke into her face and she choked back a cough. She stared into his eyes, and they stayed like that for a few seconds. Then, he began to move his mouth down towards hers. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips. Liam continued past her face and put the cigarette back into his mouth, before turning and chuckling, leaving her standing with her eyes closed and lips puckered at air.

"Diovni wants you." He left the room and Mirn fell to her knees, tears running gently down her cheeks. After a few seconds she stood, wiping her dripping nose with the sleeve of her new hand. She opened the door with a gesture, tickling a small, furry animal under the chind as she left. She passed several guards on her way up to Diovni's waiting chamber. As she approached the tall, black metal door, she could hear muffled voices. At first, she ignored them, but then, looking to see if anyone was watching, she placed her ear to the cold metal.

"I don't care if that is your opinion Leek, mine is what matters. And I find Liam to be more than trustworthy. In fact, if there is anyone I am worried about, it's you." Diovni's voice sounded harsher than usual. He rarely lost his composure, but he seemed on the brink of it now.

"And what makes you think that, sir?" Mirn winced slightly at the arrogance in Leek's voice. Diovni did not tolerate insolence.

"What I mean is that I don't trust you Leek. I don't like your methods. I don't like the fact that you are so interested in Chaos energy. I don't like how you are spending so much time with Valentine. I don't like that you hold secret councils with Raize. And I don't like that you still allow your old Shadow Hunter friends to go about their business, especially when it involves our men!" Smoke began to to seep from under the door. Mirn stifled a cough. She didn't hear what Leek said next, but the venom in Diovni's voice made it apparent that it had not helped things. "Get out..." She stumbled back from the door as Leek burst through it. He raised an eyebrow, looking at her lying on the floor, then strode off.

"Mr. Diovni, sir?" Mirn called timidly as she picked herself up.

"Come in." She let out a sigh of relief. He had calmed down. She entered and the door closed behind her. Inside, the room was devoid of anything. It wasn't cold, nor was it warm. All the furniture was covered in an inky black fog. Diovni was no where to be seen, but she could hear his voice perfectly. "Mirn, I trust you have looked over the reports that Laurel and Duke submitted on the new Holder."

"Yes Master Diovni."

"Good." Some of the dark fog gathered up into a full body before her. "I want you to begin to study him. Leek has proven to nosy in this matter, so he will not be accompanying you. Instead, I have decided that Liam will go with you." The body defined itself into the tall, lean man with silver hair that was Diovni's favorite form. "The tracker on him says that he is on Earth 276, in a town in Texas. I want you to go and find out about him."

"But," Mirn stumbled over her words. "But why sir?"

Diovni sat on a chair that he made from darkness. "He is the new Holder. He may be critical to our plans. And," He waved a hand and the dark fog around him dissapated, revealing a large, decorated office. A desk formed in front of him. "I want to know why we had no way to predict him. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt, and considering that something may have happened that through your predictions off." He leaned forward, the tips of his fingers touching and stared at her with dark eyes. "Don't fail me again."

She bowed and backed out of the room. Outside, Liam waited for her. "Shall we be going." He smiled mockingly at her as he motioned to the corridor leading to the docks. She nodded nerously and they proceeded down the hall. They passed Duke as he talked to a group of soldiers. Laurel was waiting for them at the dock with their pilot.

"Now Liam, try to be nice to Private Laurence." She smiled, tracing her finger down the pilots back. "He's doing me a personal favor, aren't you Pvt?"

His face reddened. "Yes Mistress Laurel." He coughed and motioned at the loading ramp. "This way Master Liam, Mistress Mirn." They proceeded up the ramp.

"Let me know the second you get back Pvt. I'll be waiting." Laurel smiled at him, biting her lower lip. He banged his shoulder on the side of the door as he boarded the ship and she let out a throaty laugh.

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**Author's Note: ***Trumpets sound* Hear ye, hear ye, the first "Create a Character" event is now open! The rules are simple. You submit a bio through PM to me, and I shall choose from among them a new general for Diovni's army. Roll up your sleeves, and give it your best shot.

Since this is the first event, the character created will be higher ranking than the later contests and will impact the story more. But, as with all future contests, you're bio must also meet certain points. Mainly, you're creation must use a spear as his or her primary weapon. Feel free to add other abilities, but remember, the spear is the key.

**Name:**

**Age:**

**Appearance: **

**Weapons:  
**

**Abilities:**

**Personality:**

**Background:**

**Note: **Your submission will be subject to change. If certain aspects don't meet standards, they will have to be changed. One submission per a person please.


	9. The Bane of Lilith

**Author's Note: **I'm just going to go ahead and say it, this chapter is completely unnecessary. I'm playing with the idea of writing a Devil May Cry fic later on starring Zeke and Natalia, and I figured it would be nice to try writing for that.

**The Bane of Lilith**

**  
**Rain drizzled lightly out in the dark. A small office building was the only building with lights still on, smushed between all the other tall brick structures on the street. An illuminated sign above it's door read _Bane of Lilith: Daemon Hunter's Extraordinaire_ in large red letters. A shapely devil horned women decorated the side of the sign. Inside, a large fan was blowing near the door. A young man sat in a chair, tipping back in it, eyes closed, a half empty bottle held in his fingers. A line of drool ran into the ginger wiskers on his cheek. His arms bulged slighly through the sleeves of his black t-shirt, as well as a rippling six pack. A white jacket lay on the back of his chair. His feet were propped up on a table upon which rested a stereo system blasting out Guns 'N' Roses 'Paradise City'. A fire crackled in the fireplace across the room, surrounded by a couch and a few cushioned armchairs. Guns, swords, and other weapons hung around the walls. The bell above the door rang as it opened, but the sleeping man didn't stir. Inside strode a man. His long silver hair hung halfway down the back of his white suit. A long black cigarette was clenched between his teeth, illuminating his bright blue eyes.

The door in the back of the room opened and out strode a tall woman. Her wavy hair was blond, tumbling messily down over her shoulders and to the small of her back.. She pulled her purple silk robe tighter around her and shot an exasperated look at the sleeping man. "Welcome to the Bane of Lilith deman hunters' office sir." She motioned him to a chair in front of the desk and sat down on the other side. "My name is Natalia Burns. How can we help you?"

The customer leaned back, taking a long draw from his cigarette. "As you can probably guess, I need your special skills." He let his hand hang at his side, tapping the cherry off of the cigarette. The ashes fell gracefully to the floor. He pulled a roll of bills from his pocket. "There is something I need you to take care of." He tossed the bills to Natalia. She unrolled them, finding a picture inside. "His name is Leek. I need you to exterminate him for me."

She nodded, looking over the picture. "Where can we find him?"

The man laughed as he stood, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. "You won't find him just yet. I'll contact you again when the time is right." He handed Natalia the paper. "This is a detailed report on his abilities. Study it. He's unlike anything you've faced before." He turned around and left the shop. "Remember, I'll be in touch." The door slammed behind him.

Natalia stood, laying the picture and report on the desk and slipping the money into her robe pocket. Then she marched over to the stereo and hit the kill switch. The man in the chair's eyes sprang open and he fell back with a mighty crash. "Damn it Zeke." She growled, glaring down at him. "You were supposed to watch the office tonight."

He stared up at her, blinking groggily, brushing the ginger bangs out of his eyes to frame his face. "It's a nice view from down here." She rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation, kicking him in the side as she turned. He rolled off the chair and lay on his back, stretching his arms. Zeke groaned as he stretched his arms above his head, then planted them beside his head, flipping back up to his feet. He let his momentum bend his back again and did another back flip, landing in a sitting position on the desk. He spun and lay on his side, his head propped up by his left arm. He stared at Natalia for a moment. "You know, your ass looks so good in that robe."

She rolled her eyes and walked past him, hitting a switch by the entry door. The light outside clicked off. She turned back to him. "Well, since you clearly aren't going to be able to stay awake you may as well go to bed."

"You mean with you, right?" He rolled off of the desk and smiled devilishly at her. She punched him in the shoulder as she passed.

"Get some sleep." She said, turning off the lights in the main room as well. "Who knows what could happen tomorrow. Don't want you dieing on me, now do I?"

The next morning Zeke stumbled out of his room, shirtless and shoeless. He yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. The rings on the ring finger and thumb sparkled in the sunlight. He leaned back, cracking his back and headed over to the table, starting the coffee pot heating. Stretching out on the large, cushy couch in front of the fireplace, he picked up a book from the table where it rested next to a scribbled note. He picked it up and squinted at Natalia's scrunched handwriting. "Out on a last minute job." it read. "Be back tomorrow. DO NOT go anywhere without me!"

Zeke raised his head slightly, looking at the door as it thumped. "We don't open for another two hours." he called. "Come back then." The thumping continued. "I told you to get lost!" He yelled. There was one last thump, then all was quiet. Then, he grabbed the back of the couch and pulled it over top of him as the door imploded. He kicked the piece of furniture with all his might, sending it hurtling towards the door, slamming it against the cloaked demons that stormed in through the door. He stood, brushing off his legs and he turned to the door. The demons gathered into the small shop, readying their scythe blades. Zeke smiled at them. "Well, looks like we have guests." He raised his leg above the table and brought it crashing down. The legs splintered and threw the contents of the table up in the air. He reached out and grabbed the remote from the air. Pumping his fist he cried out, "Let's get rocking!" and hit the play button on the remote.

The demons rushed forward as surfer music blasted from the speakers. He caught the handle of one's scythe, spinning it around his body and impaling it's owner through the back with the blade and pinning it to the wall. He spun and kicked one in the chest, stepping up onto it's chest and kicking it's head with his other foot. The skull came flying off and ricocheted around the room, knocking two more demons' off their feet. Propelling himself off the decapitated demon, he landed behind the others. His bottle of whiskey from the previous night lay on the table. He grabbed it, taking a large gulp and swished the drink around in his mouth. Grabbing the handle of an axe on the wall, he launched it with a heave, decapitating two more demons. Another rushed at him. Grabbing a burning candle from the table, he blocked it's strike with the metal. The flame illuminated the things hollowed eye sockets. Taking a deep breath, Zeke blew the alcohol through the flame, causing a huge fire cloud to engulf the demon's head.

He straightened and turned as slow clapping came from the doorway. There was a tall man, his dark head close shaven, a tattered coat hanging from his body. Leaning against the doorway by his side was a sword. "Very impressive, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut the performance short." He picked up his blade and entered the room.

Zeke smirked. "What? Going so soon?" The man rushed him, blade swinging. Zeke bent back, sliding under the sword and spun on his knees, kicking the man in the back of his knees. The stranger fell to a kneeling position, and flew across the room as Zeke kicked him in the back of the head. The man sprang to his feet, twisting as he did, and rushed Zeke again. Zeke dodged left and right, then jumped in the air, landing on his attacker's shoulders, clenched the man's head between his feet and grabbed onto a rafter of the ceiling. Swinging, he brought his feet up, slamming the stranger's head into the solid wood.

The man landed, and struggled to his feet, spitting blood from his mouth. "Not bad." he coughed, straightening and leveling his sword at Zeke. "But you're going to have to do better than that."

Zeke laughed. "No offense buddy, but you don't exactly look like you could make that threat good." He grunted as the man thrust out his hand, sending a shockwave that slammed the demon hunter into the wall. Zeke let out a low groan as he looked down at the blades that had hanging from the wall that were now sticking through his body. "Ow."

The stranger smirked at his victim. "Not so cocky now I see." He turned towards the door. "You've disappointed me. I guess Lord Liam will have to look elsewhere."

"Hold up buddy." He turned back around and stared in shock. Zeke pushed himself off the wall, the blades sliding out of his body. A short sword stuck in his chest. "We aren't done yet."

The man stared at him in shock. "What... You aren't human are you?"

Zeke smiled and flexed the fingers on his right hand. A gray scabbed, yellow and red knotted infection slid across his stomach, up his chest, down his shoulder and to his right forearm. There it settled, a knotted, scabbed, muscly gauntlet. One of the scabs cracked open, revealing a bloodshot, yellow eye. Zeke raised his arm, admiring the short spikes that popped from his knuckles and the joints of his fingers. "Not exactly."

"Clearly I underestimated you." The man settled into a fighting stance. "Come, I would see how strong you truly are." He lunged at Zeke. His blade was halted as Zeke caught it in his mutated hand. The man tried to pull it away, struggling with Zeke. Zeke lifted him up in the air, bringing him crashing down on the floor. Grabbing the sword still in his chest, he began to draw it out. As the last of the metal left his chest tentacles sprang from his arm and wrapped around the sword. The blade morphed, growing longer and one side dulled and flattened. A hook slid back from just behind the tip and the blade extended down, forming a sharp finger guard. He rotated it into a backhand grip and pointed the base of the hilt at his opponent. "You can still walk away."

The man stood, lifting his sword. "No. I can't."

Zeke shrugged. "Suit yourself." He swung his blade at the man's chest. He blocked Zeke's blade and crumpled back as Zeke's left fist connected with his face. Zeke spun past, sliding the edge of his blade against the man's abdomen, spilling his guts onto the floor. Then, he brought is blade up and shoved it into the man's back. The sword erupted from his chest and blood splattered the walls. Zeke withdrew his hand and the man fell. The sword morphed back into it's original shape in his chest.

"Lord Liam." The man spurted out. "Please, forgive me."

"I warned you." Zeke smirked from behind him. He pivoted, slamming the strange fist into the back of the man's head, ripping away the back of his skull. The man fell over. "And who the hell is this 'Lord Liam'?"

"That would be me." A cool voice echoed from the doorway. Zeke turned to see Liam standing in the door. He walked into the room and knelt by the body. "Caztel was one of my strongest subordinates." Grasping the handle of the sword, he pulled it from Caztel's back. "After he failed me in a mission, I had him go and find the one that was responsible for the raid. Eventually he came back, telling me that all signs pointed to Leek." He stood, holding the bloody sword in his hand. "But Leek is dangerous, and where I come from, you don't question someone of his stature without proof." He walked up to Zeke, holding the handle of the sword out to him. "So, I needed someone else to kill him. Someone that couldn't be tracked back to me. This was just a test. Neither Caztel or the demons that we summoned could compete with Leek's personal guard, let alone the man himself. I had to be sure that you had a chance." Zeke took the sword from Liam, wiping the blood off on the side of the wall. "He surrounds himself with guards, each fully capable of killing entire platoons. And Leek himself is beyond anyone else that I have seen."

Zeke rolled his eyes and cocked his head to the side. "Look man, I've taken down some big ass powerful demons. I doubt this one could be much different." But Liam shook his head.

"Leek is different. He won't fight you openly unless he has something in place to defeat you. Even if you think you have the upper hand, you must be constantly watching for the trap."

Zeke smiled. "Sounds fun. Everything is more interesting when there's a bit of risk. Now," He grabbed up his jacket from the chair he had left it on. "When do I get to kill something?"

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**Author's Note: **No, I have not forgotten about the contest. It is still open, but the new Warlord has pretty much been chosen (yeah, by the way, the generals are now called Warlords. Just thought you might want to know that.). If you're confident, you could send in one last minute, I'll be keeping it open until I publish the next chapter, or until I just decide to go ahead and use one.


	10. A New Player

**Author's Note: **The first character submission is now closed. Now, I know you don't want to listen to me talk right now, so I'll step aside and let you read the chapter.

**A New Player**

Maxwell Diovni sat hunched over his desk, shuffling through reports. Commanding the forces the size he did was trying. Doing it on almost every world that had been discovered was even harder. And keeping those worlds in need of his services was the hardest yet. He sighed and swiveled his chair around to the large window behind him. Clouds difted lazily by the floating fortress. Diovni brushed a button on his desk and the scene changed. The bright blue sky became brown dirt, the white clouds darkened to smoke. Explosions shattered the earth as soldiers rushed forward. A tank rolled onto the scene. Diovni brushed another button and the thunder of artillery and crack of gunfire echoed through his chambers. The view zoomed down, to a soldiers helmet. A man turned to him. "Get your ass moving buddy!" The camera lurched forward as the man ran forward. A rifle came into view and sighted down at an opponent. The barrel blazed as the rigger was pulled. Blood flew up into the air.

Diovni smiled and closed his eyes, listening to the chaos. He reached over to a computer and typed in a brief command. Artillery roared and the soldier's camera feed exploded. Screaming drowned out all other sounds. Another dirt and blood streaked face entered the screen. "Bryan!" He turned away. "Shit. Medic! Medic!" He turned back to the camera. "Don't worry buddy. We're gonna get you patched right up." Blood spurted from his chest, painting the camera red.

The door behind him opened. He knew who it was before anything was said. _**There is something that may interest you on satellite 23's video feed.**_ Diovni opened his eyes as Raize changed the feed. DAP soldiers were rushing through broken down back alleys towards a lone figure. He stood alone in the middle of an intersection, head bowed, dressed all in black. Diovni narrowed his eyes and zoomed the camera in. An overcoat hung from his shoulders. Diovni's eyes traced the spiral pattern on his back. He started to turn slowly to Raize. _**Wait sir.**_ Raize motioned to the screen. _**Look.**_

On screen the strange man suddenly spun, just as the first Diovni troops neared him. He thrust out his arms and three rods flew from their holsters on his thighs. As they raced towards his outsretched hands they combined into a single six foot long spear. He twirled his weapon and thrust it into the chest of an oncoming soldier. Another rushed him from behind, but he pinned that soldier to the wall with the point on the opposite end of his spear. He flipped to the side and spun the spear in a circle, decapitating three more men. More and more soldiers rushed him from all sides, and he beat each of them back. He stabbed, twirled, jumped. Diovni watched in fascination. "Who is he?" he asked, leaning back towards Raize, his eyes never leaving the onscreen combat.

_**We don't know sir. He might be a mercenary hired by a rebel faction.**_

Diovni nodded. "What units do we have in that area?"

Raize looked at him. _**There are five squads of the Claw in within a mile.**_ He adjusted his pistols in their holsters.. _**Svanimii agent Jillian is also out with a squad testing Leek's Chaos Embryo project. I assume that is what you really were asking. **_

Diovni smiled. "Excellent." He rotated back to his computer. "Have three of your squads move to intercept. They are only to engage the target as necessary to keep him in place. The Svanimii squad will then come in and capture him." Raize nodded as Diovni waved him lazily away. Riaze warped away in a burst of pitch black flame.

He appeared down on the surface, overlooking the warrior. He stared down at him as he butchered oncoming DAP troops. _**Attention all Shadow's Claw units in the area.**_ Raize broadcast his orders out to his troops. _**The three squads closest to my posistion are to report to me immediately. Engage no hostiles and await further orders.**_ He felt a series of affirmative impulses from his squads in his mind. Five minutes later he was surrounded by twelve of the Claw. Raize motioned to the man below. _**Move to overwatch positions. Make sure he doesn't leave this area until Svanimii agents arrive. Then you are to fall back to your previous postitions. **_

One of his men stepped forward. "Sir." He began hesitantly. "Why are we doing this? It seems to me that we should just-" Raize cut him off with a stare.

_**Fourth Claw Julius. It is a little early in your career to start that kind of thinking.**_ He turned back to the man below. _**The Svanimii will be here in a few minutes. Go, set up your positions. **_The Claws nodded and disappeared over the edge of the building with rappeling equipment. Others leapt to nearby buildings. Soon, Raize was all alone again. _**Attention all Diovni Arms and Protections mercenaries. **_He broadcast his voice out to all the soldiers within range. _**This is Warlord Raize, commander of the Shadow's Claw corps. You are called to cease and dissist attack of the unknown combatant. All units report back to the nearest base for further orders. Svanimii agents are inbound to take the combatant.**_

Below the soldiers quickly pulled back from the attack. The lone warrior was left alone in the middle of the streets, panting, leaning on his spear. He hung his head, beads of sweat dripping from his bangs. Suddenly he snapped his head up and dove to the side just as two Svanimii agents, clothed in their full body suits, buried their clawed hydrolic powered legs into the ground where he had been standing. Two more rushed him from behind, knives drawn. He blocked their strikes and jumped away, twirling his spear and readying himself for another attack. However, instead of assaulting him, the four sheathed their knives in leg sheaths. Backing away they stood in a line as a fifth figure advanced.

Jillian walked past her squad, her mask pulled up over her face. She stopped, her hands on her hips. "Warrior of unknown affiliation, I am Svanimii agent Jillian. You are hereby called upon to lay down your weapons and submit to our custody. Any further attempts to resist will result in us utilizing extreme force to take you in."

The man sneered at her, "Bring it bitch." and hurled his spear. The Svanimii all lept away, the claws on their suits' legs anchoring them to the surfaces of various buildings.

"Very well, we will bring you in by force." Agent Jillian looked about to her squad. "Svanimii, ready the CEs." Each of the Svanimii raised their left arm, pulling a syringe from it's case below the wrist. A small valve popped up from under each of their left elbow pits. Inserting the needle of the syringe into the valve, they injected the silvery substance in the syringes into their arms, shuddering as the power washed through them. "I give you one last chance to turn yourself in peacefully." Jillian shouted down to the stranger. He just strode forward casually and tore his spear from the ground they had been standing upon. He adjusted his grip and got into a ready stance. The chains from his waist, left arm and right leg clinked. "Svanimii, brace!" Jillian called out. "Iniating Protomateria." Blue light eminated from her chest. "Empowering Chaos Embryos." Silvery light surrounded the other Svanimii. "Remember," Jillian called through gritted teeth. "Subject is to be taken alive and without any permanent damage." The blue light around her exploded outward, washing over the other Svanimii.

One by one they fell to the ground and lay there motionless. Jillian slid down the wall and fell to her knees groaning. The strange man smirked. "Was that supposed to impress me?" He began to stride forward, spear at his side, when a monstorous roar echoed from behind him. He turned just in time to be slammed to the ground. One of the Svanimii stood over him, her foot digging it's climbing claws into his chest. She attached a gauntlet with two blades coming from it to her right hand. Electricity arced between the gauntlet blades. She roared again, raising the weapon over her head for the death blow. The man turned his head to the right, thrusting out his hand. His attacker was knocked from him by a large peice of rubble. He lept to his feet, bring his spear to his outstretched hand just in time to block the attacks of two more Svanimii armed with the electro-claws. He stumbled back, clutching at the wound in his shoulder from the first one's feet claws.

By now, all five Svanimii were up and advancing towards him. Their suits were torn, and black plates spiked out from their shoulders and elbows. Through the goggles on their masks, their eyes glowed golden. They all roared in unison, and jumped at the man. He spun, blocking and dogding, twisting his body to avoid their strikes, but it wasn't much use. He cried out as a blade was embedded in his thigh, sending electricity arcing through is body, then another claw stabbed him in the gut. He fell back, his spear dropping from his fingers. Blood dripped onto the ground before him. The Svanimii snarled at him, readying for another assault. He glanced around, looking for something to help him. Stretching out his arms, he concentrated with all his might. The pillars, holding the building behind him up began to shake, dust falling from them. Then, they cracked. With a wild cry, he brought his arms in, destroying the pillars and bringing the building down towards him.

He jumped forward, rolling past the berserked Svanimii. Summoning his spear to him with his mind he ran as fast as he could. Behind him he heard the beast like cries of his attackers as the rubble fell down on them. He stumbled into an alley way. Above he saw the flash of binoculars as the Claws trained in on him, but he disappeared from view. "Lord Raize." One of the Claws said into his radio. "Target has vanished. Probably some kind of cloaking technology. Request thermal scan from a satellite."

_**Negative. **_Came the reply in his mind. _**Report back to your previous position. Lord Duke will hunt him down.**_

"Yes sir." The Claw stood and gathered up his supplies, motioning for his squad to follow.

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Duke sat hunched over a drink at the bar. His greasy blond hair was falling over his eyes. Taking a final swig from his shot glass, he motioned for the bartender. The portly man swaggered over, wiping his hands on his apron. "With all to respect Lord Duke, maybe you should slow down on the drinks."

Duke looked up at him sullenly. "Just pour the drink." The bartender shrugged and poured a purplish substance from a jug into the shot glass. He gulped it down and motioned for another.

The soundproofed door behind him let in the gunfire and artillery crashes as Laurel entered. She took a seat next to Duke. "Why do you drink that shit? It makes your breath rancid." Duke looked at her angrily and gulped down another shot. She shrugged and motioned to the bartender. "Get me the usual Jem. You know, the one I showed you how to make in private?" She winked at him as he sighed and turned to the cabnit behind him to get her drink. Laurel turned back to her fellow general, flipping a lock of hair away from her breasts. Duke shot a look at her, eyeing the large amount of cleavage showing above her combat vest, then turned back to the row of drinks lined up before him.

"Whaddya want?" He growled, throwing back his head as he took another shot.

Laurel adjusted her legs, turning towards him. "Raize found a mercenary."

"Big wupdee fuckin doo." He took another shot. "Does that surprise you?"

She rolled her eyes. "He killed quite a few of our guys. Then managed to escape from the Svanimii involved in the Chaos Embryos experiments." Duke lowered his head into his hands. "Master Diovni wants you to go after him."

He rubbed his eyes with his palms. "Why can't Raize do it?"

Laurel laughed. "Did I mention that the Master wants this guy alive?" Duke grunted.

"Fine." He stood up. "Keep lining up the drinks Jem, I'll be back." He turned to leave when Laurel grapped his elbow.

"Wait up tiger, you ain't goin like this." She jammed a syringe into his thigh. Squeezing his leg she smiled. "Aw, you been working out for me." He gave her a poisonous look and shuddered as the drug purged the alcohol from his body. Then he swept out of the bar. Laurel turned back and picked up her drink, taking a long gulp.

Jem smiled. "Mistress Laurel, you really shouldn't give Lord Duke a hard time for drinking as he does when you drink that."

She licked her lips and smiled back at him. "But Jem, you know how it makes me looser. I lose all my inhibitions. And, I'm so much more flexible."

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The mysterious mercenary hunched over a fire, examining the puncture wound in his shoulder. Butchered soldiers littered the ground around him. He grimaced as he bound the cut with gauze from one of his victims' packs. He reached down and picked up his spear, spinning it behind him. There was a soft thunk as a sharp metal card embedded itself in the spear shaft. He turned to see Duke standing behind him, arm outstretched. "Not bad." He drawled in his Australian accent, twisting his left hand and pulling out a handful of cards. "But let's see just what you can really do." He ignited the cards and loosed them at his opponent.

The stranger jumped over the cards, raising his weapon above his head. Duke leaped to the side as the spear came crashing down, rolled and threw another two cards that embedded themselves in the stranger's leg. The mysterious warrior spun and jabbed his spear at Duke's abdomen. Duke caught it in his hand, stopping it before it could go very far into his flesh. He grunted and pulled it out of his gut. "Not bad." He tossed it to the side. "But I've seen better."

The stranger smiled. "Better than this?" He spun and struck with the other end of his spear. Duke lept back, landing on a building, throwing several grenades. They exploded around the warrior, sending debris through the air. It all froze in midair around the man. Rotating the rubble with his mind he hurled it at Duke. Whirling away, Duke tossed a handful of grenades. They struck the debris and exploded, massive balls of fire and smoke suspended in the air.

The haze of dust and smoke settled to the ground and the two combatants looked at each other. "Not bad. Not bad at all." Duke shouted down to his quarry. "I can see why Master Diovni wants you." He pulled his hand away from the wound in his gut. It was stained red. "What's your name?"

The young man took a step back. "What's it matter to you? You won't live long enough to remember it." He spun his spear and hurled it at Duke. Sidestepping, Duke wrapped his gloved hand around the shaft, just below the spearhead.

Stabbing it into the ground, he leaned on it like a staff. "Don't try and pull anything with me, kid. What's your name?"

The stranger glared up at Duke. "Ichirou. Ichirou Trace." Jumping back, he thrust his arm out. Three more rods out from his coat, forming a double headed spear identical to the one that Duke had taken. Taking a running start, he lept up at Duke. Duke smiled, and sidestepped again, driving the spear into Ichirou's back, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

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Ichirou regained consciousness a few hours later. Moaning, he dragged himself to his knees, pushing his black bangs out of his ember eyes. Looking around, the room was entirely dark. No light to pierce the shadows. "Ichirou, good, you're awake." Ichirou jumped to his feet, reaching for his spear rods. They weren't there. "Your weapons are being held for now. Not because you are of any danger to me, but because they could be a danger to you." The oily voice continued, echoing around the room.

"Who are you?" Ichirou called out. "Show yourself!"

Harsh laughter filled his ears. "But can't you see me? I'm right here." Ichirou wirled around, searching for his taunter. "Hm, perhaps a less surreal form." In front of Ichirou the shadows quivered, tightening into the shape of a man, defining into Diovni's tall, dark suited form. Ichirou glared at him. "I'll be frank with you Ichirou." Diovni smiled coldly. "I am in the business of war. I need to have the best at my disposal. And, given the proper training, you could be one of the best." He walked slowly up to Ichirou, seeming to grow larger as he did. "I want you to join my organization as a Warlord. Not many have that honor, but I feel that you could be one of my most useful. So," he dissapeared just as he was about to walk into Ichirou. "What do you say?" He reappeared behind Ichirou.

"And why should I have to work for you?" Ichirou spun, thrusting out his arm, sending a ripple of psychic energy at Diovni. The shadows barely moved, and suddenly Ichirou was blinded by pain, held in the air by shadowy tentacles. Beneath him was the plummet to the ground.

Diovni shimmered into reality before him. "Do not play with me, Ichirou. Had Duke not been charged with capturing you alive, you would not have lasted long, nor against the Svanimii. I give you a chance to become as powerful as you can be. Do not waste it." He threw Ichirou back into the shadow room, which was now lit slightly by the broken window. "Will you swear allegieance to me?"

Ichirou struggled into a kneeling position and bowed his head. "I swear fealty to you, Master Diovni." Deep, dark, cold laughter echoed from the dark room.

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**Author's Note: **And the winner is... Eden R. C. with his entry of Ichirou Trace. I won't lie, the number of entries was kinda low, but they were all quite well thought out. In the end, it was very close between Ichirou and another exemplerary submission. Anyway, as a special treat I'm updating a second chapter today, mainly as an apology for it taking so long. I had both ready to publish Sunday, but they hadn't been approved yet, and my internet connection has been pretty spotty since.


	11. Like Father, Unlike Son

**Author's Note: **And here it is, the second update and the second chapter in the Bane of Lilith saga. Still haven't decided what I want to do with the characters later on, after their initial arc is finished, but I'm working on it.

**Like Father, Unlike Son**

Sunlight glinted off the marble spires of the school. The demon hunter trainees of the school scurried across the cobblestones, their light blue tunics and robes swishing about them. They rushed in and out of the great gate, over which hung a large sign with raised, gilded letters reading: Briar Academy.

High above the bustling bodies, on the roof of a nearby building, Zeke sat with his back resting against a large, roaring, stone gargoyle. He held a hand rolled cigarette in his hand. Clamping the smoking cigarette in his teeth, he slowly stood, stretching his legs. Then, taking one last on puff on the cigarette he tossed it aside, took a few steps back and, taking a running start, leaped to the highest spire. He grabbed it with his left hand, planting his feet on hit to hold himself in place. Shielding his eyes with his right hand, he gazed down into the central courtyard of the school, scanning the novices studying for tests or sparring in a training ring. Loosening his grip, he slid swiftly down the spire, landing on the balcony of the tower the massive spike rested upon.

The door from the balcony into the tower's inner office was open. Sticking his head in, Zeke looked around the empty room. Shelves of books lined the walls. The magnificent, dark oak desk was littered with papers, reports brought in by patrols and hunter teams, budget issues, grade cards. A pair of well crafted, golden swords hung crossed behind the intricately carved high-back chair. Taking a step inside, Zeke hesitated, and turned about, vaulting over the railing of the balcony. He landed with a thump on the slate gray slanted roof, sliding downwards for a split-second before he regained his balance.

It was a simple matter for him to break the padlock on one of the skylights for the hallways around the school. Sliding the window back, he hung down from his waist, glancing around the corridor. Dropping in, he hid behind a column as a pack of trainnees walked past. "I'm telling you, keep your distance. Go with firearms on your initiation test."

One of his companions shook his head. "But a gun leaves you at the mercy of a close range fight. What if you get Lumin? Only a sword will give you a chance there."

Zeke held his breath as they passed, pulling back into the shadows. The moved on and he slid out into the light, looking around. Heading down the hall, he counted off the dorm room numbers. "Four thirty-three, four thirty-four, four thirty-five. Four thirty-six." He slowly opened the door, peeking inside. Checking to make sure the hall was clear, he slipped in the room and looked around. "Come on, come on, where is it?" His head snapped up and he fell to the ground, rolling underneath one of the beds as the door opened.

"That's weird, I thought for sure I locked this." A girl entered the room. "You guys go on down, I'll be right there."

"Well hurry up Kaylee!" A voice shouted in. The girl closed the door and walked over to her desk, sitting down in front of a mirror. She picked up a pearl handled brush and began to brush out her shoulder length brunette hair.

Zeke rolled out from under the bed, rising quietly to a crouching position. Sneaking up behind the girl, he clamped his hand over her mouth, stifling a scream. "You could at least call every once and awhile." He spun her chair around, looking her in the eye. "Are you going to scream?" She shook her head. "Are you going to smack me?" She nodded. He sighed. "Well, I guess I figured that would happen." He withdrew his hand and felt his head snapped to the right. "Ow." He said, rubbing his cheek.

"What the hell are you doing?" She whispered. "You know you shouldn't be here."

He shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood."

"Bullshit, you're never in the neighborhood."

He smiled. "Okay, actually I need the Chimera." He reached for the gun holstered at her hip. She grabbed his arm, recoiling slightly as her fingers brushed the scabs and knotted scars. "Sorry 'bout that." He pulled his arm away.

"I thought you gave it to me to keep." She turned back to the desk, picking up the books stacked there. "You should go. If Professor Briar catches you here he'll throw a fit."

"He already has." Kaylee whirled around, gasping as she saw the tall, powerfully built man in the door way. His winged shoulder guards cast a large shadow on the wall. "You'd best got to class now Kaylee." She nodded, brushing past Zeke with her books against her chest and her face lowered. As she passed, Zeke grabbed the handle of a large double barreled handgun slung at her waist, tucking it into a similar holster at his belt. Kaylee rushed past the headmaster, and he walked slowly into the room, staring at Zeke.

Zeke smiled, raising his hand and giving a little wave. "Hey pop."

His father stared coldly at Zeke's devil arm. "I see you still haven't given that up."

Zeke hid it behind his back. "Well, it helps pay the bills." Professor Briar sighed and walked to the bed, sitting down on it, his powerful muscles flexing under his robes. In the light the semblance between them was obvious, the same deep red hair, the same harsh features on the face. The elder Briar bore several scars attesting to his long career. Zeke shifted his weight uncomfortably. "So, hows Clay?"

His father grunted. "The same as always. Arrogant. Over-confident."

Zeke chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like my brother."

His father looked at him, smoldering anger in his eyes. "He looks up to you, you know. Not to proper hunters like Lumin or Tyral. It's always you, the rebel, the free lancer." He glared at Zeke's devil arm. "The traitor. The freak."

Zeke's lip twitched. Their eyes met and they stared hard at each other, neither faltering. "I did what I thought I should." Zeke growled. "I can't help it if you are to close minded to accept that there are other ways of doing things." He turned around, about to storm out of the room when one of his father's aids rushed in.

"Professor Briar, Lumin's team has run into resistance in their hunt. They request back up."

Zeke glanced back at his father. The headmaster sighed. "Get Tyral and Matthias and put a squad together. I will join you in fifteen minutes and we will leave to assist." He waved the aide away.

"They could be dead in fifteen minutes." Zeke looked back at his father.

Professor Briar scowled at him. "We do things my way around here. If you dissagree, feel free to go back to your own firm and leave real demon slaying to us." He swept past his son, hurrying to his office. Zeke glared at his retreating back.

"What are you going to do?" Zeke spun around, seeing Kaylee leaning against the wall.

"Aren't you late for class?" Zeke shot at her.

"I decided to skip. I think I could learn more this way." She pushed off of the wall. "So, what is the great Zeke Briar going to do?"

He smiled. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see." He turned back and winked at her. "If you can keep up." With that he sprang out a window, rolling as he hit the roof of a building, and took off running. Behind him, Kaylee followed his lead and sprinted after him. They raced across the rooftops, leaping across alleys, sliding down wires. Ricocheting around the city, they arrived at the scene of devastation. Fires burned in blackened buildings all around. They came to a halt at the edge of a roof. Below them, a team of demon hunters lay on the ground. Lumin's blond head was visible, matted with blood. He struggled to his knee, readying his sword.

Above, an enormous man with wings floated above the hunters, it's steel gray armor glinting in the firelight. Red eyes glowed from his helmet. "You fools!" It's deep voice reverbated in it's chest. "Did you really think you could match me?" It laughed. "Now you shall pay for your folly." It raised large sword high above it, bringing it down towards Lumin. A shot rang out as the blade swerved, missing Lumin's head by less than an inch.

The Chimera was smoking in Zeke's hand. He grinned at the demon. "Didn't your mommy ever teach you to play nice?"

The demon turned to Zeke and Kaylee. "Who are you?"

Holstering the Chimera, Zeke placed his hand on his hip and cocked his head to the side. "Ah, I see she didn't teach you manners either. Don't you know that it's impolite to ask someone their name before introducing yourself."

The demon snarled. "I am Magnum, and your doom!" He charged at the two. Zeke shoved Kaylee to the side, grabbing Magnum's arm with his devil arm and hurled him to the ground. Zeke jumped down, landing next to Lumin. Magnum flapped it's wings, rising into the air."What?" Zeke drew his sword from it's holster on his back, flexing his fingers under the extended blade finger guard, setting the tip of the sharp back hook on the ground. The demon glared at it. "Genesis. So, you are the one that aided Kytes, the one he left his legacy to." The demon's eyes trailed up the blade and across Zeke's devil arm. "I see. You may be a challenge worth my time." It rose higher and higher into the air. "When I defeat you, I shall absorb the power of Genesis, and become the most powerful demon in Hell!"

Resting Genesis on his shoulder, Zeke smiled up at the demon. "The only problem with that is that you'd have to kill me. And I can't let that happen. Natalia would be pissed." The demon roared and stabbed it's large sword at Zeke. He jumped up to the top of a nearby roof, level with his opponent. Magnum swung his massive blade horizontally at the demon hunter. Jumping above the blade, Zeke kicked down at the tip, driving it down into the ground. Landing on the swords broadside, he ran up it, readying his own blade in his hand. Slashing from his right shoulder down to his left foot, he cut through the demon's armor, running straight through to the other side. The demon spun, jabbing at Zeke. Spinning Genesis in his hand, Zeke slid it back into it's place on his back, over his short white jacket, just in time to deflect Magnum's sword's tip. Then, back flipping, he arched his back, pulling out the Chimera from it's holster and unloaded a clip into Magnum's head. He landed on the ground, tossing the gun in the air. He grabbed the handle of Genesis, spinning it into a backhand grip and hurled it at Magnum's face where it sank in half it's length. Pulling another clip from his belt, Zeke held it out. The Chimera handed on the magazine and it slid perfectly into place. Twirling it around his finger, he fired off three shots, forming a triangle around his sword. Then he jumped up to Magnum's chest, running up it and yanking Genesis from the demon's face, and drove his fist into the puncture that the sword had made.

Magnum roared, falling several yards, clutching his face as red light shone from the now gaping hole. "What have you done? This is impossible!" Zeke pounded his fist around the hole, widening it. He pushed off, flipping in the air above Magnum's head, and kicked as he fell, knocking the demon into the ground, creating a larg crater and leveling several buildings. Zeke slid the Genesis back into it's place on his back. Behind him, Magnum roared, erupting from the crater, rocketing towards the sky. "This isn't over, human! I will return, and you will pay for this!"

Zeke turned and raised his right hand, lifting his middle finger at the retreating form. "The name's Zeke, Bane of Lilith demon hunter extrodinaire. Remember it!" He yelled up to the demon.

Enthusiastic clapping came from behind him. Zeke turned to see the back up team approaching. His father stood behind an enthusiastic young boy, frowning. The young man was the clapping one, his close cropt hair making him look like a shorter version of his father. "Zeke, that was so cool." Clay ran up to him. "He was all like, 'I am your doom' and then you went yah, hi-yah, fuck yeah."

"Clay!"

Zeke's little brother winced. "Sorry pop." He walked slowly back to his father and the rest of the team.

Professor Briar walked forward, his large broadsword still in it's sheath at his waist. "I will say that that was impressive. Impressive, but foolish. You should have killed him."

Zeke glared at his father. "I don't do things for free. Next time, make an appointment." Professor Briar raised his arm as if to strike his son, but lowered his hand.

"Get back to the academy, all of you." Professor Briar turned and stalked back to his team, placing his arm around the shoulders of his younger son, leading him away.

Kaylee came up behind Zeke and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." Zeke shrugged her off.

"Don't be. It's not your fault he's a stupid son of a bitch."

Kaylee looked down at her feet. "Would it really be so bad to come back?" Zeke turned and looked at her. "We used to have fun, didn't we? Couldn't you just appease your father? Everyone wishes you would come back to the Academy."

Zeke shook his head. "If I went back, it I would have to give up my most useful tool. This," he brought the devil arm up before his face. "This thing has become a part of me. If I seperated from it, it would be like losing part of me. I can't let that go." Kaylee took a step forward as if to say something, but stopped, and turned to follow her comrades.

An hour later, Zeke opened the door to the shop and slammed it behind him. The room was still in shambles from his fight with Caztel and the demons yesterday, so he knew Natalia hadn't come back yet. Pulling off his jacket and tossing it to the floor, he sat down heavily in the chair behind the desk, resting his head in his hands. The phone rang and he slammed his fist down on the table, knocking the handset into the air. He caught it and put it to his ear. "Bane of Lilith demon hunters, Zeke speaking."

Liam's cool voice drifted through the earpiece. "It's almost time. I'll have transport meet you tomorrow. Pack everything you'll need, you won't be coming back till the job is done."

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	12. Into the Fire

**Into the Fire**

"Again." Diovni's voice rang out harshly, bouncing off the walls of the empty arena. Ichirou wiped sweat away from his brow, readying his spear in his hands. In front of him, Laurel smiled, twirling a dagger lazily through her fingers.

"What's the matter big boy? Can't keep up?" She drew a second blade from a leg sheath. "We're going to have to work on your stamina. I don't like it when my man gets all worn out." Ichirou snarled and charged her. She ducked under his strike, jumping in the air to stab him with her daggers. He blocked the silvery blades with the shaft of his spear and jumped away. Twisting about, he blocked a surprise attack from Leek's massive sword, back flipping away as the chains tried to snare him. Diovni watched from high up above in the stands, Raize by his side.

The training battle raged on for an hour, with Leek and Laurel pushing the new Warlord to his limits, stopping just short of the killing blow. An aid entered Diovni's box and whispered into his ear, handing him a note. Diovni nodded and waved the aid away. Standing, he motioned to Laurel and Leek to stop. They halted mid strike and turned to their master, Ichirou panting between them. "I just received word that the Holder has moved. Mirn detected his signal jumping to Spira nineteen."

Leek raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that where the ABRM contract was located?"

Diovni nodded. "As you know, several months ago we began to withdraw our troops due to a Shadow infestation, much higher than we've ever seen. The last of the Shadow's Claw corps. was scheduled to be withdrawn soon. However, the Holder's movements have given us another option. Leek," He said, turning to Leek, "I want you to take Ichirou on a tracking mission." Leek glanced at the rookie Warlord, smirking. "Teach him how we operate, and give me a full report. Now, I understand that with the Shadows currently infesting the world, you will be hard pressed to survive while staying anonymous, so I have decided that the remaining Shadow's Claw troops will stay and provide support and safe houses." He turned to the door behind him. "You have your orders, go. Laurel, meet me in my office." They dispersed, Raize following silently behind his master.

Leek grinned at Ichirou. "Well rookie, let's hope you don't die to quickly." Ichirou narrowed his eyes and followed Leek out of the stadium, brushing dirt off of his long black coat. Laurel adjusted her leather armor, and exited out a side door.

The door to Diovni's office swooshed open as Laurel entered. Diovni was sitting behind his desk, a sheet of paper in his hand. "Laurel, have you ever heard of Drakotz?" He asked without glancing up.

Laurel thought for a moment. "I don't think I have, Master."

Diovni chuckled, shuffling his papers. "I didn't think so. Drakotz is a world currently embroiled in civil war." He smiled up at Laurel. "We have been hired to help."

Laurel nodded. "I understand. I will prep a squadron of shock troops to secure a safe zone," but Diovni shook his head.

"No, you will go to Earth." He held out a disk for her. "Take this to Mirn. Tell her I want her to finish the designs so that we can begin construction as soon as possible."

Laurel took the disk gingerly. "The mech program? I thought we'd abandoned it years ago, decided that it would be cheaper to stick with our ariel forces."

Diovni smiled. "There are a _lot _of mechs on Drakotz. Now go." He said, waving her away. She bowed and exited. Diovni turned to Raize, who was standing quietly in the corner. "Raize, I want you to gather the force we had stationed on Spira 19. They must be moved."

Raize nodded. "To Spira 5?"

Diovni smiled. "Yes. I have been in contact there for a long time. FAYTH is about to make a comeback." He cracked his knuckles and turned to his computer. A map of Spira showed on the screen. "I have long wanted to go head to head with an Overlord. And who better to start with than the infamous Overlord Kelvis."

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Down at the docking bay, Ichirou followed Leek up the ramp of one of the sleek, black Diovni ships. Ducking inside, he looked around the interior. It was pretty luxurious, a large open area with two doors leading to private quarters. "This is the Splinter." Leek explained, hanging his sword on the wall and strapping himself into the pilots seat. "These are what Warlord teams use whenever we go on a reconnaissance mission." He held up two fingers. "Always in twos. Usually it's Laurel and Duke, Liam and Mirn, and then me and Raize. But, now that you're here, you get to learn from the best." He motioned to Ichirou to sit in the seat next to him. "Try and take a nap, once we're there you won't get another chance." With that, he pulled the ship away from the dock and activated the portal into the Chaos Internum. The men and women working there shielded their eyes as the Splinter disappeared in a flash of light.

Ichirou snorted awake as they burst out of a portal and hung in the air above a large desert. Leek flipped a few switches. "Welcome to Bikanel deser-" His voice trailed off as he studied the instruments. "Shit." He muttered, tapping a gauge. "This is not good." He began to descend.

"What, what's wrong?" Ichirou looked over Leek's shoulder at the instrument he had been tapping.

"Temperature." Said Leek, frowning. "It shouldn't be anywhere close to this." The Splinter settled down in, sending a cloud of dust up around it. "Hope you brought some sunscreen." He grinned at Ichirou, slamming his fist into his chest to release the restraining belt, and popped the hatch open.

As he stepped out, Ichirou practically stumbled to his knees as he was hit with the wall of dry heat. "Holy shit." He murmured, picking himself back up and wiping away a trail of sweat. "You weren't kidding. It's like stepping onto the sun." He glanced back at Leek, who hadn't sweated a drop. "Why aren't you sweating like this."

Leek stepped out onto the sand, squinted his eyes and looked around. With a shrug, he began marching. "I've felt hotter." Ichirou struggled after him, settling into a steady walk. Pulling a small device from his pocket, Leek pushed a button. Behind them, the ship became a sandy tan, blending in with the dunes. Leek handed Ichirou a bottle of water. "Now, while we're here, you do exaclty what I say, when I say it. I don't care if Diovni made you a Warlord, your still a rookie, and I don't need you weighing me down."

"Don't worry, I won't." Ichirou said through gritted teeth, biting back a response. He chugged a gulp of water. "So, where are we going?"

Leek looked down at the screen of the small device in his hand. "Well, it looks like the target is making a beeline for the Al Behd Home." He narrowed his eyes. "Huh. How does the kid always know where to go? It's almost like he's been to these places before..." Shaking his head, Leek clipped the mini-computer to his belt. "Come on, that dune there should give us a view of what's going on." Leek bounded up the side of the sand, his feet barely making prints. Below, Ichirou struggled as he sank in halfway up his calves. When he finally reached to top, he took another long swig from the water bottle, emptying it. Leek looked down from his perch, watching shadowy figures wander the sands. "What have we here?" he murmured, sliding down the opposite side of the dune. Ichirou slid after him, pulling another water bottle from his supply pouch.

Al Behd were trudging across a dig site, large pieces of machina clutched in their hands. Ichirou stepped up next to Leek, watching them move. "What's with them?" He whispered in Leek's ear.

"Possession." Leek murmured, walking slowly into the group of bustling Al Bhed. "It's to hot for the Shadows to survive here, so they possessed the bodies of the Al Behd." Placing a hand carefully on the back of a particularly frail worker, he made a beeline for where a straggler was finishing up an almost exhausted find. Grabbing the young Al Behd girl by the neck, he pulled her into the shadow of a dune, away from the eyes of the others. Ichirou darted in and crouched behind him.

"What are you doing?" He whispered, checking to make sure no one was coming to look for them.

"Getting information." Leek mumbled, tightening his grip on the girl's throat. The chains around his wrist snaked around the girl's neck and down her left arm. Then, standing, Leek pulled his arm back. The chains tore through the girls skin, but instead of blood, blackness oozed from her arm and neck. Raising his arm, Leek brought the chains higher into the air. A writhing, pitch black creature struggled in them. Before it could shriek, he snapped the chains around it taught, destroying it. Turning back to the girl, who lay semi-conscious in the sand, he pulled a container of water from his own survival pack, unscrewed the lid, and let the water dribble into her mouth. She grabbed it, trying to gulp it all down, but he pulled it away. "Not so fast, you'll get sick. Hurling is the last thing you wanna do in your condition." Letting her have a little water, he asked. "Can you tell me what's happened here?"

"Fru yna oui? Fryd'c kuehk uh?" The girl sat up quickly, spiral eyes wide, but Leek held her down, putting a finger to his lips.

"Xiead. Lyh oui damm sa fryd rybbahat rana?" He whispered urgentely. Ichirou watched with mild interest. The girl nodded. "Fryd'c ouin hysa?"

The girl gulped. "Needus. So hysa ec Needus."

Leek nodded. "So hysa ec Leek. Huf, Needus, E haat oui du damm sa fryd rybbahat rana."

The girl nodded. "Ed ymm cdyndat cajanym suhdrc yku. E fyc uid clyjahkehk fedr so cecdan, Palpa, yht fa cyf druca crytuf drehkc lusehk. Fa ymm ret eh Rusa, ihdem dra gehk lysa."

Leek frowned. "Syh? Tet ra tu drec du oui?"

Ichirou looked about anxiously. "Could you hurry it up a bit?" Leek's response was a hand waving him back. Leek nodded at the girl to continue.

Needus took a deep breath. "Ra lymmc rescamv Ujanmunt Kanos. Ra lysa cuuh yvdan dra Crytufc tet, yht syta dra cih kad naymmo rud. Ra cyet dryd ed fyc gemmehk dra Crytufc. Pid ed fyc tyhkanuic vun ic du. Ra luhjehlat ic dryd ruicehk dra Crytufc fuimt syga ic cdnuhkan, ypma du nacecd dra rayd. Pid drah drao duug ujan, luhdnummehk ic." She put her head in her hands as she began to weep."Ajanouha kud dygah. Huf fa yna zicd rec cmyjac." She looked up at Leek hopefully. "Pid oui cyjat sa. Oui ynah'd yvvaldat po dra rayd, un dra Crytufc. Oui lysa du cyja ic, teth'd oui!"

Leek just shook his head, almost sadly. "Hu Needus." And he drew his sword driving it into her stomach "Uhla E ryja ylreajat so kuymc, oui femm meja ykyeh. E bnuseca, oui femm ihtancdyht." He twisted the large sword, then pulled it from her corpse and slung it across his back.

Ichirou walked up behind him. "You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on now?"

Leek turned to him. "There's an Overlord here. Some Kano. He's no threat, we can deal with him if we need to. He's the one," Leek motioned to the sky. "He's the one that's making it so hot. The Shadows can't survive it. Neither can the Al Behd. But together, they are able to resist the suns heat."

Ichirou nodded. "So what do we do now? Take this Kano out?"

Leek shook his head. "No, we keep tracking the Holder. Stay out of sight, only confront if necessary. We'll wait and see what the Holder does to this 'Overlord'."

Ichirou nodded, then frowned looking up at the sky. "Does it feel, I dunno, cooler to you?"

Leek glanced up. "It's not as bright as it was a second ago." The sky was darkening, becoming sea blue. Then, for an instant, it was pitch black, and the light rose again, not as bright or as hot as it had been. "Something tells me 'Overlord Kano' is dead." Leek smirked.

Suddenly, they heard a wailing from behind. Turning around, they rounded the dune and saw the Al Behd on the ground. The Shadows, no longer constrained by the heat, had left their bodies. As the two Warlords came into view, the Shadows turned and rushed them. Ichirou pulled out his lance, cleaving two of them in half. Leek spun, his sword decapitating two more, and his chains grabbing the remaining Shadows and ripping them to shreds. Straightening, they turned to the freed Al Behd workers. The frail man Leek had passed rushed forward. "Dryhg oui! Oui ryja cyjat ic!"

Ichirou looked at Leek. Leek met his gaze with a hard look. "No witnesses." Leek turned and walked away. Ichirou turned to the excited Al Behd. He reached out a hand, raising one of the tools the workers had been using with his telekinesis, and dropped it in the hands of the frail man. Whipping out his other arm, he assembled his three part spear and leaped at them.

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Back on Earth, Liam severed his connection to Diovni Arms and Protection headquarters. Swearing under his breath, he turned around to Mirn. "Laurel will be arriving soon with new instructions for you. I also thought you should know that they sent Leek and a new recruit, Ichirou, to Spira 19, after the signal you traced." He gave her a poisonous look. "Well done." She bowed her head timidly, ignoring the acid in his voice, concentrating on the words of praise. "Now get out." She hurried from the room. It was the same office he had won his victory over Leonardo Marelli in. A victory that Leek was endangering.

A dark shape stepped out of the shadows of the corner, a shape Mirn hadn't seen. "So, you want me to go to this 'Spira 19' place" Zeke asked, putting another handrolled cigarette between his teeth. "I should warn you, for long distance I charge by the mile."

Liam glared at him. "No. If you let something slip, something that the new Warlord could overhear, that leads back to me, this will all have been for nothing. I've come to far to be pushed aside by Leek again." Liam growled, looking down at the dark wood desk. "I was supposed to be Mr. Diovni's cheif confidant. And not only have I failed his expectations, I've been replaced by that freak, Raize. And then, to add to my humiliation, even Leek outranks me. Diovni doesn't even trust him, yet he is still depended upon more than me."

Zeke smirked, chewing on the unlit cigarette. "Heh, and I thought _I _had troubles with the family business."

Liam snapped his head towards Zeke. "Shut up." He stared at the wrinkled, soggy cigarette in disgust. "Aren't you going to light that thing?"

Pulling it from his mouth, Zeke examined the soggy paper. "Nah, trying to quit the habit." Liam rolled his eyes.

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Ichirou's gentle snoring was the only thing Leek could hear. They'd been attacked several more times since the Shadows had been freed, and they had settled down for rest. Keeping a careful eye on the horizon, Leek played with the scarlet stone growing out of his right hand, feeling the energy in it. Soon, he would have all the energy he needed.

A sound made him snap his head up. He shook Ichirou awake and readied his sword. "Lord Leek." A voice whispered from the darkness. "This is Second Claw Parker. We're here to get you to a safe house." Three of the young Shadow's Claw members slipped into view. "This way, sir."

The Claw's safe house was an underground complex, hastily built as a barracks for Diovni soldiers during the Al Behd Restorative Movement's war against Yevon. There was some limited light, and plenty of empty rooms. "How do you keep the Shadows away?" Ichirou asked, looking about the sandy walls.

Second Claw Parker pointed to a circular object with wire coming out of it. "Light energy generators. They're standard issue in any of our warzones, due to the risk of Shadow's showing up. They put out a high powered shield of pure Light energy. Shadows can't get through it." They reached the central room. "Here, sir." Second Claw Parker said, handing Leek an envelope. "There's a map in there detailing the location of the other safe houses. I wish I coud've given it to you digitally, but all the technology in the camp was taken during the withdrawal, aside from the LEGs and the surveillance network."

Leek nodded. "You did good. I'll be sure to recommend a promotion to Lord Raize."

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**Author's Note: **SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION TIME!!!! As some of you (probably not, though) may know, I also write for a account under the name Dastardus. On that site, I have been working on a story entitles _Midnight: Return of the Vampire_. Myself (and several of my readers) agree that it is likely my best story that I have written, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would show your support by hopping over to .com/s/2591841/1/Midnight_Return_of_the_Vampire . I would greatly appreciate your reviews, ideas, and help in utterly destroying Twilight. Thank you!

Btw, yes, you noticed, I changed my name. I was sitting here, typing this AN, when I realized that Dastardus began in a D, and that I'm publishing my work, which start in a P. DP. (Oh god, don't think of it like that.) So, I figured I'd throw Author (starts with an A) in there, and... Voila! D.A.P. Isn't that cool?


	13. Resignation

**Resignation**

Well folks, it's been fun, but all journeys must come to an end. And now, ours has. I have left the Diovni Arms and Protection/Birth of a Guardian project to work on my own things. Personally, I hope Senio, or Draguss, or whatever I should be calling my boss continues with the DAP bransh without me. I have grown attached to these characters, which is kind of weird considering what scumbags they are. Well, except for Mirn. I gotta admit, I wish I could have finished her story happily, but maybe cutting it off now is for the best anyway. Anyway, time for another shameless self-promotion pitch. In my last chapter, I requested that you all check out Midnight: Return of the Vampire on fictionpress. That request still stands, and I would appreciate the support. I have also written a few chapters for my Devil May Cry fic, Bane of Lilith, which I would also like for you to R&R. And now, for a single, totally unrelated chapter (unless Draguss decides otherwise, but I doubt it) so that I can say goodbye to the characters I've been working with for so long. As dorky as this sounds, I really will miss you.

**Goodbye**

Smoke curled up from the remains of Diovni's fortress, crashed into the mountainside. Leek stood on the mountain top, his blue shawl whipping up in the air around him. Raize trekked slowly up the bouldery path from the destruction to stand beside him.

_**So this is it...**_ Leek glanced at him, then turned his gaze back to the wreckage he had called home all these years. _**The base is destroyed, the connections to the rest of the company cut off. **_For the first time in his existance, Raize chuckled. _**And we're left here, alone.**_

Leek nodded. "Looks that way." Turning, he led Raize down the mountain to where the other Warlords were waiting.

"Well?" Duke asked, getting up from his seat on a boulder. "How bad is it?"

Without realizing it, Leek began laughing. The others just stared at him as he fell back onto his butt and rested his hand in his left hand. "Oh, it's bad," he managed to get out, gasping for breath. "Let's just say we're stuck here. For good." He got his amusement under control and looked around.

Ichirou was the first to say what everyone was thinking. "So whadda we do now?"

Leek stood, brushing himself off. "It doesn't matter. The base is gone, Diovni is dead, and the company's not going to hold together now that they have no way of communicating." He sighed, turning towards oncoming storm clouds. "I guess we just do whatever we want now." He started walking into the wind, dust kicking up around him. They watched as he drew away. Raize began walking after him without a second glance, falling into perfect pace.

Half a mile into the march, Leek heard a voice on the wind. Turning, he saw Ichirou running towards him and Raize, his long black overcoat flapping out behind him like a pair of dark wings on the landscape. "Wait!" He called out. Leek and Raize stopped their walk and watched him as he approached. "Where're you going?"

Leek shrugged. "Wherever the winds take us I guess."

Ichirou looked back at Liam, Duke, Laurel and Mirn, still watching them. "Can I come? I don't have anywhere else to go."

Leek smiled. "I'm not gonna stop you." and the three of them settled into a brisk pace, soon dissapearing from view.

**Duke**

After Diovni Arms and Protection fell, Duke quickly resumed his old habits of excessive drink and gambling. He spent the remainder of his life an outlaw, running from one ruined city to another, winning money, wasting it on booze, losing what was left and being run out of town. Twice, he married, but it never lasted, his addictions to powerful to overcome. He was buried in a nameless grave.

**Liam**

Liam used his considerable connections to create an underground drug and mercenary ring. He became known as the Corrupted Saint, a ruthless ruler who commanded the loyalty of thousands. Unfortunately for him, it could not last. He married and had a son whom he named Maxwell, in memory of his former lord. He devoted the majority of his time to caring for his family. Enemies within his organization saw this as a chance to seize power, and he was murdered in the night.

**Laurel**

Laurel traveled with Duke for a time, but left after she decided the life of a drifter wasn't for her. She became the favorite guard of a local dictator who rose to power in the confusion following Diovni's death. However, she soon suffered a mental break down and was admitted to an asylum where she lived out the remainder of her days, two personalities fighting for a single body.

**Ichirou**

Ichirou traveled with Leek for several years. Eventually, they came upon the town that Ichirou had grown up in, persecuted for his abilities. Now, however, the locals greeted him with open arms, having heard rumors of his power and of the people he had saved since joining Leek. Leek and Raize disappeared in the night, leaving him in his village. He took over as the magestrate of the town and became their protecter. His angry nature was calmed by a young girl named Rebecca, whom he married. They had two children, a son and a daughter.

**Leek**

Leek journeyed the world, traveling from city to city, fighting back the insurgents and rogue Diovni soldiers that began to terrorize the areas. It is said he met quite a few of his former Svanimii agents doing the same thing. He assembled a small army and defended settlements for almost ten years before mysteriously disappearing along with all his followers.

**Raize**

Raize remained with Leek. After the destruction of DAP, Raize contacted all the Shadow's Claw, via telepathy, and freed them from the tormented lives he had created for them, allowing them free will and the ability to feel remorse for their crimes. Most Shadow's Claw operatives found themselves at an old monastery, where they devoted their lives to peace, in order to pay for the atrocities they had committed. Whether Raize decided this on his own, or if Leek made him is unknown. He disappeared when Leek did.

**Mirn**

Mirn settled down in Lymir, the most populated settlement left. There, she joined in a movement to provide the survivors of Diovni's wars with medical aid and to repair the devastated planet. While working, she met another doctor named Nathniel Gert. The two of them worked side by side, and soon fell in love, married, and had a young boy whom they named Ulric. The day of their wedding, light shone through the clouds covering the planet for the first time in almost fifty years.

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**Author's Note: **Wow, I actually got a little teary eyed writing that. God, I really am going to miss this. But, I guess this is how things need to go down. Remember, check out Midnight: Return of the Vampire on fictionpress, Bane of Lilith right here on , and keep reading Birth of a Guardian.

So long, enjoy the stories, find some that you would want to suggest to me (real stories, not self insertion or one shots unless they are really good), and never, EVER stop writing. Peace, pssssht.


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